Two new quassinoids, brujavanol A (1) and brujavanol B (2), along with five known quassinoids (3-7), were isolated from the roots of Brucea javanica. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The antimalarial and cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds were also assessed. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significant in vitro cytotoxicity against human oral cavity cancer (KB) cells with IC50 values of 1.30 and 2.36 μg/ml, respectively, whereas compound 3 showed excellent antiplasmodial activity against the Plasmodium falciparum strains, K1 (IC50 = 0.58 μg/ml).
Keywords: Brucea javanica; Simaroubaceae; antimalarial activity; cytotoxicity; quassinoid.