Phenolics with antiviral activity from Millettia erythrocalyx and Artocarpus lakoocha

Abstract

From the leaves of Millettia erythrocalyx, a new flavone named 3',5'-dimethoxy-[2",3": 7,8]-furanoflavone and three known compounds were isolated. Assays for anti-herpes simplex virus activity (HSV-1 and HSV-2) were performed on 24 phenolic compounds obtained from M. erythrocalyx and Artocarpus lakoocha. It was found that the flavones ovalifolin, pongol methyl ether and millettocalyxin A, and the stilbene oxyresveratrol possessed moderate activity against both types of HSV. In addition, oxyresveratrol was evaluated for potential anti-HIV activity against a wild-type human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1/LAI) isolate and was found to be a modest inhibitor of HIV (EC50 28.2 microM), showing no toxicity in PBM, CEM and Vero cells at 100 microM. The heartwood of A. lakoocha, which contains a large amount of oxyresveratrol, could be considered as a source of starting material for the development of new natural product-based anti-HSV and anti-HIV agents.