Abstract
Phytochemical study of the ethanolic extract of
Asphodelus microcarpus
Salzm. et Viv. (Asphodelaceae) resulted in the isolation of two new compounds, methyl-1,4,5-trihydroxy-7-methyl-9,10-dioxo-9,10-dihydroanthracene-2-carboxylate (
1
), and (1
R
) 3,10-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1
H
-1,4-epoxybenzo[
h
]isochromene (
2
) as well as three known compounds; 3,4-dihydroxy-methyl benzoate (
3
), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (
4
), and 6-methoxychrysophanol (
5
). Compound
1
showed a potent activity against methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) and
Staphylococcus aureus
with IC
50
values of 1.5 and 1.2 µg/mL, respectively. Compound
3
showed antileishmanial activity with an IC
50
value of 33.2 µg/mL. Compound
2
is the first isochromene possessing a highly strained 1,4-epoxy moiety. The structure elucidation of isolated metabolites was carried out using spectroscopic data, the absolute configuration of
2
based on optical rotation and electronic circular dichroism experiments and calculations.