Ficusanol, a new cinnamic acid derivative and other constituents from the roots of <i>Ficus exasperata</i> Vahl. (Moraceae) with antioxidant and cytotoxic activities

Abstract

Phytochemical investigation of the roots of <em>Ficus exasperata </em>Vahl. (Moraceae) led to the isolation of a new cinnamic acid derivative, named ficusanol (<strong>1</strong>) along with eleven known compounds: 3-(6-methoxybenzo[<em>b</em>]furan-5-yl)propenoic acid (<strong>2</strong>), bergapten (<strong>3</strong>), oxypeucedanin hydrate (<strong>4</strong>), marmesin (<strong>5</strong>), decursinol (<strong>6</strong>), aridanin (<strong>7</strong>), betulinic acid (<strong>8</strong>), maslinic acid (<strong>9</strong>), a mixture of stigmasterol (<strong>10</strong>) and β-sitosterol (<strong>11</strong>), and sitosteryl-3-<em>O</em>-β-D-glucopyranoside (<strong>12</strong>). The structures of the new compound as well as those of the known ones were established by the means of usual spectroscopic methods: NMR (¹H, ¹³C, DEPT, COSY, HSQC and HMBC) data and HR-ESIMS data. Crude extract and compounds <strong>1</strong>, <strong>2</strong>, <strong>5</strong>, <strong>6</strong> and <strong>7</strong> were evaluated for their radical scavenging potency using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Accordingly, the compound <strong>6</strong> showed significant antioxidant activity with IC₅₀= 25.10 ± 0.91 µg/mL, whereas the other compounds showed only moderate activity at high concentrations. Compounds <strong>2</strong>, <strong>6</strong> and <strong>7</strong> were also evaluated for their cytotoxic activity among which the compound <strong>7</strong> exhibited a strong cytotoxic activity with a viability percentage of 3.5% on mouse lymphoma cell line L5178Y.