Antitrypanosomal Activity of Glochidonol and Salacinin C from Phyllanthus muellerianus

Abstract

Phyllanthus muellerianus is an important plant in Nigerian ethnomedicine. Several compounds were isolated from the hexane and methanol extracts of the stem and root bark of the plant using silica gel column chromatography and characterized by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic methods. The compounds were assayed for in vitro activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei. The hexane and ethyl acetate extracts yielded friedelanone, physcion, glochidonol, and Salacinin C, while the methanol extract gave monoacetyl glycerol. Glochidonol (EC50 = 1.25 µg/ml) and Salacinin C (EC₅₀ of 6.25 µg/ml) showed strong antitrypnosomal activity in vitro.