Antimalarial compounds from Grewia bilamellata

Bioassay-directed fractionation led to the isolation of 12 compounds from a sample of the dried leaves, twigs, and stems of Grewia bilamellata. Five of the isolates, 3α,20-lupandiol (1), grewin (2), nitidanin (4), 2α,3β-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (5), and 2,6-dimethoxy-1-acetonylquinol (6), showed varying degrees of in vitro antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum, but were devoid of significant cytotoxicity to the human oral epidermoid KB cancer cell line. Of the 12 isolates, compounds 1, 2, and 3 (bilagrewin) were determined to be a new triterpene, a new coumarinolignan, and a new neolignan, respectively. Other known compounds isolated in this study were 8-O-4′ neolignan guaiacylglycerol-β-coniferyl ether isomers (threo and erythro), cleomiscosin D, icariol A₂, ciwujiatone, and daucosterol. The structures of 1-3 were elucidated and identified on the basis of spectroscopic data including 1D and 2D NMR analysis.