Plants have evolved to survive in the biosphere by producing secondary metabolites to compete with other fungi, plants, and insects. Thus, these secondary metabolites can have various biological activities such as antifungal, insecticidal, and phytotoxic activities. The plants in the Rutaceae family are especially enriched in these compounds. We investigated Amyris elemifera, a plant in the Rutaceae family in search of such compounds. Chromatographic fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of A. elemifera afforded a novel furanocoumarin, 2-(9-((3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)oxy)-7-oxo-2,3-dihydro-7H-furo[3,2-g]chromen-2-yl)propan-2-yl acetate with phytotoxic and antifungal activities. In the seedling development bioassay for evaluating phytotoxic activity, this compound was more active against the monocot Agrostis stolonifera than the dicot Lactuca sativa. TLC bioautography revealed antifungal activity of this compound against Colletotrichum species. This novel compound is the major constituent in the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves. Isolation of the active metabolite, elucidation of structure and biological activities, and synthesis of analogs will be discussed.

A new furanocoumarin from leaves of Amyris elemifera with antifungal and phytotoxic activities

256th National Meeting (2018)

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