Chemical Constituents, Antimicrobial and Antimalarial Activities of Zanthoxylum monophyllum

From the leaves and bark of Zanthoxylum monophyllum, a new lignan, 3-methoxy-3',4'-methylenedioxylignan-4,8,9,9'-tetraol (1), has been isolated along with 22 known compounds (2-23), fifteen of them reported for the first time from Z. monophyllum. Their chemical structures were elucidated using detailed spectroscopic studies and chemical analysis. All compounds were evaluated for antimicrobial and antiprotozoal activities. Alkaloids bis-[6-(5,6-dihydro-chelerythrinyl)] ether (2) and 6-ethoxy-chelerythrine (4) exhibited strong activity against Aspergillus fumigatus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Compound 4-methoxy-N-methyl-2-quinolone (9) exhibited significant activity against MRSA (IC50 value of 8.0 mu M) while compound 5,8,4'-trihydroxy-3,7,3'-trimethoxyflavone (10) showed weak activity against Plasmodium falciparum.