Pyridocoumarin, aristolactam and aporphine alkaloids from the Australian rainforest plant Goniothalamus australis.

Chemical investigation of the CH(2)Cl(2)/CH(3)OH extracts from aerial parts of the Australian plant Goniothalamus australis has resulted in the isolation of two pyridocoumarin alkaloids, goniothalines A (1) and B (2) as well as eight known natural products, aristolactam AII (3), enterocarpam II (4), caldensine (5), sauristolactam (6), (-)-anonaine (7), asimilobine (8), altholactone (9) and (+)-goniofufurone (10). The chemical structures of all compounds were determined by extensive spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis. Methylation of 2 using TMS-diazomethane afforded 1, which unequivocally established that both 1 and 2 possessed a 10-methyl-2H-pyrano[2,3-f]quinolin-2-one skeleton. These pyridocoumarin alkaloids are putatively proposed to arise biosynthetically from an aporphinoid precursor. Compounds 1-10 were evaluated for in vitro antimalarial activity against a chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum line (3D7). Sauristolactam (6) and (-)-anonaine (7) exhibited the most potent antiparasitic activity with IC(50) values of 9 and 7 μM, respectively.