A bio-guided study of leaf extracts allowed the isolation of two new macrobicyclic hydrolysable tannins, namely merianin A (1) and merianin B (2), and oct-1-en-3-yl β-xylopyranosyl-(1"-6')-β-glucopyranoside (3) from Meriania hernandoi, in addition to 11 known compounds reported for the first time in the Meriania genus. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses including one- and two-dimensional NMR techniques and mass spectrometry. The bioactivities of the compounds were determined by measuring the DPPH radical scavenging activity and by carrying out antioxidant power assays (FRAP), etiolated wheat coleoptile assays and phytotoxicity assays on the standard target species Lycopersicum esculentum W. (tomato). Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited the best free radical scavenging activities, with FRS50 values of 2.0 and 1.9 µM, respectively.
Keywords: DPPH; FRAP; M. hernandoi; M. nobilis; Melastomataceae; Meriania; hydrolysable tannins; phytotoxicity; polyphenols.