Cytotoxic and antibacterial activity of Laevifonol from the Stem Bark of Vatica odorata

Laevifonol, a dimerstilbene from Vatica odorata was isolated for the second time from Vatica sp. This compound is a unique oligostilbene formed from a condensation between e-viniferin [1] and ascorbic acid, and was firstly isolated from Shorea laevifonia [2] and recently from Vatica umbonata [3]. In this work the structure of laevifonol was established on the basis of its spectral data, including UV, IR and NMR spectra and also in comparison with the previously reported data. Cytotoxic properties of laevifonol were evaluated against murine leukimia P-388 cells and Artemia salina. The results showed that laevifonol moderately inhibit P-388 cell line with IC₅₀ value of IC₅₀ and appeared inactive towards Artemia salina (IC₅₀>796.2µM). Antibacterial activity of this dimerstilbene was screened against two gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and one gram negative bacteria (E.coli). The antibacterial testing was carried out by using the disc diffusion method. Blank disc of 6mm diameter were loaded with 1000µg/ml of the laevifonol and applied to the inoculate plate. The compound showed moderate activity against all the bacteria with inhibition zones of 0.5cm against E.coli and Bacillus subtilis and 0.1cm against Staphylococcus aureus compared to positive control (erythromycin 60µg). The present investigation is apart of our ongoing studies on the oligostilbenoids of Malaysian Dipterocarapcaeae in which no phytochemical data was recorded on Vatica odorata.

References: [1] Sotheeswaran, S. and Pasupathy, V. (1993) Phytochemistry 32:1083–1092.

[2] Hirano, Y. et al. (2001)J. Wood Sci. 47:308–312.

[3] Atun, S. et al. (2005) Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 32:1051–1053.