NOVEL CYTOTOXIC POLYPRENYLATED XANTHONOIDS FROM GARCINIA-GAUDICHAUDII(GUTTIFERAE)

Cytotoxicity guided phytochemical analysis of the leaf extract of the Malaysian medicinal plant Garcinia gaudichaudii led to the isolation o f 15 novel cytotoxic compounds, gaudichaudiones A - H (1, 2, 8 - 10 an d 12), gaudichaudiic acids A - E (3 - 6), including the known morellic acid (7) and forbesione (11). All are mainly tetraprenylated xanthono ids but gaudichaudione H (12) is a novel bridgehead methoxylated tripr enylated xanthonoid. The novel caged structures were determined by det ailed NMR spectral analysis and the compounds were found to exhibit si gnificant cytotoxicity against several cancer cell lines. (C) 1998 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.