Anti-plasmodial Limonoids from Khaya Anthotheca (welw.) C.DC.

The seeds of Khaya anthotheca, (Welv.) yielded two undescribed limonoids, 1 alpha,7 alpha-diacetoxyhavanensin-16-one (1) and 3 alpha,7 alpha-diacetoxyhavanensin-16-one (2), as well as three known limonoids, khayanthone (3), 3,7-di-Oacetyl-14,15-deoxyhavanensin (4) and 1,7-di-O-acetyl-14,15-deoxyhavanensin (5). The antiplasmodial activities of the CH2Cl2 extract and the pure compounds were evaluated in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum (Dd2-B2 strain). Khayanthone (3) showed the highest activity of all the compounds isolated in this study, with an IC50 of 1.32 mu g/mL.