New cytotoxic alkaloids from the wood of Vepris punctata from the Madagascar rainforest

Bioassay-guided fractionation of a CH(2)Cl(2)/MeOH extract of the wood of Vepris punctata resulted in the isolation of three new furoquinoline alkaloids, 5-methoxymaculine (1), 5,8-dimethoxymaculine (2), and 4,5,6,7,8-pentamethoxyfuroquinoline (3), in addition to the four known alkaloids flindersiamine (4), kokusaginine (5), maculine (6), and skimmianine (7). The structures of the new alkaloids 1-3 were established on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data interpretation. All the isolated compounds were tested against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, and all seven alkaloids showed weak cytotoxic activity.