Structure of complex natural product elucidated.
IPB chemists, together with partners from Germany and Indonesia, have elucidated the structure of the previously undescribed natural compound lumnitzeralactone. This ellagic acid derivative has been isolated from the Indonesian mangrove species Lumnitzera racemosa Willd. To elucidate the structure of lumnitzeralactone's complex ring system, the scientists pulled out all the available analytical stops and succeeded by using high-resolution mass spectrometry, various NMR methods and computer-assisted modeling. They also suggested possible biosynthetic pathways involving mangrove-associated fungi.
Lumnitzera racemosa Willd. is widely distributed from the coasts of East Africa to the Indo-West Pacific and the Malay Archipelago. Extracts of the mangrove species are used in traditional medicine to treat snakebite, rheumatism, asthma, diabetes and various skin diseases. With scientific methods, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and blood pressure and blood sugar lowering activities could also be demonstrated for the plant extracts. The derivatives of ellagic acid proved to be particularly promising. However, some of the bioactive compounds do not originate from the plant itself, but rather from associated microorganisms, including various fungal endophytes.
