Abstract
Phytochemical investigation of Artocarpus lacucha Buch.-Ham (Moraceae) leaves led to the identification of three of the rarely found flavan-benzofuranes named artocarpinol C (1), 3-epi-artocarpinol C (2), and artocarpinol D (6) along with six known flavan derivatives. Thus, a total of six artocarpinols are now described. All their chemical structures and absolute configurations were established by one dimensional (1D)- and two-dimensional (2D) NMR, infrared (IR), electronic circular dichroism (ECD), high-resolution electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), and optical rotation (OR). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations based on the B3LYP theory level were conducted to determine the stereochemistry at positions 2 and 3 in the C-ring. All compounds exhibited in vitro radical scavenging activities, and compounds 3 and 5 demonstrated pronounced intracellular antioxidative effects in colon carcinoma cells (SW480), as determined by the DCFH-DA assay. Compounds 3 and 5 exhibited further high affinities for binding to the active site of human glutathione reductase. These molecular properties are discussed with regard to possible applications.