Secoiridoids and Iridoids from Morinda asteroscepa

The new 2,3-secoiridoids morisecoiridoic acids A (1) and B (2), the new iridoid 8-acetoxyepishanzilactone (3), and four additional known iridoids (4-7) were isolated from the leaf and stem bark methanol extracts of Morinda asteroscepa using chromatographic methods. The structure of shanzilactone (4) was revised. The purified metabolites were identified using NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques, with the absolute configuration of 1 having been established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The crude leaf extract (10 mu g/mL) and compounds 1-3 and 5 (10 mu M) showed mild antiplasmodial activities against the chloroquine-sensitive malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (3D7).