Gonioridleylactam (1), a new compound, is a unique dimeric aristolactam isolated from the EtOAc extract of the twigs of Goniothalamus ridleyi King. The structure of gonioridleylactam (1) consists of two different aristolactams linked together with two methylenedioxy bridges at C-3/C-3' and C-4/C-4', generating a ten-membered ring of [1,3,6,8]tetraoxecine. A new natural product, gonioridleyindole (3-hydroxymethyl-1-methyl-1H-benz[f]indole-4,9-dione, 2), together with eight known compounds (3-10) were also isolated from this plant. Their structures were extensively characterized by spectroscopic methods and comparisons were made with the literature. Compounds 1-4, 7, and 9 were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Of these, 3,5-demethoxypiperolide (7) displayed the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value of 1.25 µM.
Keywords: Goniothalamus ridleyi; dimeric aristolactam; styryl lactone; α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.