Constituents of Endodesmia calophylloides Benth. and Adenia lobata (Jacq.) Engl. with antileihsmanial activities

Abstract The CH2Cl2–MeOH (1:1) extract of Adenia lobata (stem bark) and the MeOH extracts of Endodesmia calophylloides (stem bark and leaves) displayed in vitro antileishmanial activities during preliminary screening against Leishmania donovani promastigotes with IC50 values ranging from 17.75–24.33 µg/mL. The fractions obtained from these extracts were also assessed for their antileishmanial (IC50 values between 9.19 and 100 µg/mL) and cytotoxicity activities. The purification of the active fractions led to the isolation of 24 compounds: seven from A. lobata (1-7) including one new ceramide (1) and seventeen from E. calophylloides (8-24). Their structures were elucidated based on the analysis of their NMR and MS data. The isolates were assessed for their antileishmanial activity and for their cytotoxicity. Germanicol caffeoyl ester (3), the (1:1) mixture of isoxanthochymol (18)/cycloxanthochymol (19), and the (1:1) mixture of tachioside (10)/isotachioside (11) displayed potent antileishmanial activity with IC50 values of 6.03, 4.77, and 8.66 µg/mL, respectively, with SI˃1.