title: Leishmanicidal active constituents from Nepalese medicinal plant Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum L.).
abstract: In the course of screening leishmanicidal active compounds from Asian and South American medicinal plants, a Nepalese medicinal plant, Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum L.), showed strong activity. We therefore studied the isolation and structural elucidation of the active constituents from O. sanctum L. From the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the plant, seven new novel neolignan derivatives were isolated along with 16 known compounds. The structures of the new compounds (1-7) were elucidated as 6-allyl-3',8-dimethoxy-flavan-3,4'-diol (1), 6-allyl-3-(4-allyl-2-methoxyphenoxy)-3',8-dimethoxyflavan-4'-ol (2), 5-allyl-3-(4-allyl-2-methoxyphenoxymethyl)-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-7-methoxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran (3), 1,2-bis(4-allyl-2-methoxyphenoxy)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-methoxypropane (4), 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,2,3-tris(4-allyl-2-methoxyphenoxy)propane (5), 1-allyl-4-(5-allyl-2-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenoxy)-3-(4-allyl-2-methoxyphenoxy)-5-methoxybenzene (6), and 3-(5-allyl-2-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenoxy)-prop-1-ene (7) by means of (1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR, and 2D-NMR spectral data. Some of these compounds showed leishmanicidal activity.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Shobara, Hiroshima 727-0023, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Shirota
authors.forename: Kanami
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Setsuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sekita
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fuchino
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuroyanagi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007891:Leishmania / Q000187:drug effects*; D017705:Lignans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D009390:Nepal; D031339:Ocimum / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D014344:Trypanocidal Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D017705:Lignans; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014344:Trypanocidal Agents