Potent Antibacterial Prenylated Acetophenones from the Australian Endemic Plant <i>Acronychia crassipetala</i>

• Main Authors: Trong D. Tran, Malin A. Olsson, David J. McMillan, Jason K. Cullen, Peter G. Parsons, Paul W. Reddell, Steven M. Ogbourne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Antibiotics
• Subjects: Acronychia crassipetala; crassipetalonol A; crassipetalone A; prenylated acetophenone; antibiotics; cytotoxicity
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/8/487

<i>Acronychia crassipetala</i> is an endemic plant species in Australia. Its phytochemistry and therapeutic properties are underexplored. The hexane extract of the fruit <i>A. crassipetala</i> T. G. Hartley was found to inhibit the growth of the Gram-positive bacteria <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>. Following bio-activity guided fractionation, two prenylated acetophenones, crassipetalonol A (<b>1</b>) and crassipetalone A (<b>2</b>), were isolated. Their structures were determined mainly by NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses. This is the first record of the isolation and structural characterisation of secondary metabolites from the species <i>A. crassipetala</i>. Their antibacterial and cytotoxic assessments indicated that the known compound (<b>2</b>) had more potent antibacterial activity than the antibiotic chloramphenicol, while the new compound (<b>1</b>) showed moderate cytotoxicity.