Several species of the genus Artocarpus (Moraceae) have been investigated in our laboratories during the last decade. Over 60 phenolic constituents have been discovered and characterized, including 27 new compounds from 13 Indonesian taxa of Artocarpus, namely A. champeden, A. lanceifolius, A. teysmanii, A. scortechinii, A. rotunda, A. maingayi, A. kemando, A. bracteata, A. altilis, A. fretessi, A. gomezianus, A. reticulatus and A. glaucus. The principal and the most pronounced features of these phenolic constituents are the assembly of an isoprenyl substituent at C-3 of a flavone skeleton by closure of an ether bridge or a carbon-carbon linkage with the B ring of the skeleton, which may further rearrange into xanthone to produce various classes of natural products. The structures of the new and unusual natural products are presented. Many of the metabolites also exhibit cytotoxic effect against murine leukemia P388 cells.
Keywords: Artocarpus; Cytotoxicity; Flavonoid; Moraceae; Phenolic constituent; Prenylflavone.