Antiplasmodial specialised compounds from the leaves of Guarea glomerulata Harms (Meliaceae)

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first chemical study of Guarea glomerulata that led to the isolation and characterisation of nine distinct compounds from its methanolic leaves extract including one new trinortriterpenoid glomerulatin along with eight known compounds amongst which five compounds namely azadirone, oleanolic acid, sericoside, cleomiscosin D and griffonin reported for the first time from the genus Guarea. All the isolated compounds have been evaluated in vitro for their antiplasmodial potency against the chloroquine-sensitive strain P. falciparum 3D7. The results showed that glomerulatin and azadirone were the most active compounds with IC50 values of 1.02 ± 0.2 μM and 1.48 ± 0.4 μM, respectively. This study enriches the chemistry of the genus Guarea and further supports the identification of Meliaceae plants as a good source of antiplasmodial candidates for the development of new potent drugs against malaria.