Cytotoxic and antibacterial activities of compounds isolated from the fruits and stem-bark of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schumach. & Thonn.) Taub. (Fabaceae)

A new glyceride, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl-31-hydroxyhentriacontanoate ( 1 ), a new glucoside stigmasterol derivative, stigmasterol 3- O - β -D-glucopyranoside 6’-hexadecanoate ( 2 ) along with eleven known compounds ( 3 - 13 ) were isolated from the fruits and the stem bark of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schumach. & Thonn.) Taub. using silica gel vacuum liquid and column chromatography. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on spectroscopic and spectrometry methods including NMR (1D and 2D), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRESIMS) and comparison with data reported in the literature. The crude extract and the isolated compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against a panel of bacterial strains using the microdilution technique and for their cytotoxic potential on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231) using doxorubicin as reference medicine. All the tested compounds exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Klebsiella aerogenes and Bacillus subtilis with an MIC value of 18.5 µg/mL. Furthermore, compounds ( 3 ) and ( 9 ) were active against all bacterial strains with MICs values ranging from 18.5 to 74 µ g/mL. Compounds ( 12 - 13 ) and the crude extract were cytotoxic against MDA-MB-231 cells with their CC 50 values ranging between 14.5 and 20.0 µ g/mL. These results confirm that T. tetraptera is a potential source of antibacterial agents and exhibits selective toxicity against breast cancer cell lines. Apart from compound ( 3 ) and compounds ( 10-12 ), all the other compounds were isolated from Tetrapleura genus for the first time. Compounds ( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 6 ), ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) were also isolated from the Fabaceae family for the first time. Graphical abstract