Tambouranolide, a new cytotoxic hydroxybutanolide from a Tambourissa sp. (Monimiaceae)

Abstract

A new cytotoxic hydroxybutanolide, tambouranolide, has been isolated by solid phase extraction from an ethanol extract of the dried roots of a species of Tambourissa (Monimiaceae) from the Madagascar rainforest. The structure was elucidated through the interpretation of spectral data and its comparison to data reported in the literature for related molecules. The compound showed moderate in vitro cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ of 8 µg mL⁻¹ in the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line assay.

^†† Biodiversity Conservation and Drug Discovery in Madagascar, Part 16. For Part 15, see reference 5b.

Keywords:

• Tambourissa
• Monimiaceae
• Hydroxybutanolide

Acknowledgements

Financial support for this work was provided by the Fogarty International Center, the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Office of Dietary Supplements, Office of the Director of NIH, under Cooperative Agreement U01 TW000313 with the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups, and this support is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank Mr. Bill Bebout and Mr. Tom Glass for obtaining the HRMS and NMR spectra, respectively.

Notes

^†† Biodiversity Conservation and Drug Discovery in Madagascar, Part 16. For Part 15, see reference 5b.