Prenylated isoflavanones from the stem bark of Erythrina poeppigiana (Leguminosae) and its antimalarial properties

Abstract

During the course of our continuous search for novel antimalarial compounds derived from the Indonesian Erythrina plants, the methanol extract of the stem bark of Erythrina poeppigiana demonstrated significant antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum parasites, in vitro. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract resulted in the isolation of three known platyisoflavanone (1), erypogein D (2), and sophoraisoflavanone A (3). Compounds 1-3 showed strong antimalarial activity against 3D7 strain of P. falciparum with IC50 values of 0.52, 0.36, and 3.65μM, respectively. This result indicates that stem bark of E. poeppigiana is a promising source of antimalarial agents, and merits further investigation.