The striking rise of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections has become a serious threat to public health worldwide. In an effort to search for new anti-MRSA agents from natural products, a bioassay-guided phytochemical study was conducted on the semi-mangrove plant Myoporum bontioides A. Gray, which led to the isolation of two new sesquiterpene alkaloids (1 and 2) and six known furanosesquiterpenes (3⁻8). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive analysis of their 1D, 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic data. These two new alkaloids (1 and 2) displayed potent anti-MRSA activity with MIC value of 6.25 μg/mL. This is the first report of sesquiterpene alkaloids from the plants of Myoporum genus and their anti-MRSA activity.
Keywords: Myoporum bontioides; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); sesquiterpene alkaloids.