A MeOH extract from the whole plant Dendrobium venustum exhibited significant antimalarial and anti-herpetic activities. Bioassay-guided isolation of the plant extract resulted in the isolation of seven known phenolic compounds. Densiflorol B (3) and phoyunnanin E (6) showed the strongest antimalarial activity and a high selectivity index, whereas gigantol (2), batatasin III (5) and phoyunnanin C (7) exhibited moderate activity. Compounds 2 and 5 also showed weak activity against the Herpes simplex virus. This study is the first report on the chemical and biological activities of D. venustum.
SeidenfadenG. (1985) Orchid genera in Thailand XII. Dendrobium Sw. Opera Botanica, 83, 1–295.
2.
WangL., ZhangC.F., WangZ.T., ZhangM., XuL.S. (2009) Five new compounds from Dendrobium crystallinum. Journal of Asian Natural Products Research, 11, 903–911.
3.
ZhangG.N., ZhongL.Y., Annie BlighS.W., GuoY.L., ZhangC.F., ZhangM., WangZ.T., XuL.S. (2005) Bi-cyclic and bi-tricyclic compounds from Dendrobium thyrsiflorum. Phytochemistry, 66, 1113–1120.
4.
YangH., SungS.H., KimY.C. (2007) Antifibrotic phenanthrenes of Dendrobium nobile. Journal of Natural Products, 70, 1925–1929.
5.
SritularakB., LikhitwitayawuidK. (2009) New bisbibenzyls from Dendrobium falconeri. Helvetica Chimica Acta, 92, 740–744.
6.
SritularakB., AnuwatM., LikhitwitayawuidK. (2011) A new phenanthrenequinone from Dendrobium draconis. Journal of Asian Natural Products Research, 13, 251–255.
7.
ChanvorachoteP., KowitdamrongA., RuanghirunT., SritularakB., MungmeeC., LikhitwitayawuidK. (2013) Anti-metastatic activities of bibenzyls from Dendrobium pulchellum. Natural Product Communications, 8, 115–118.
8.
SarrS.O., PerroteyS., FallI., EnnaharS., ZhaoM., DiopY.M., CandolfiE., MarchioniE. (2011) Icacina senegalensis (Icacinaceae), traditionally used for the treatment of malaria, inhibits in vitro Plasmodium falciparum growth without host cell toxicity. Malaria Journal, 10, 1–10.
9.
ZhangX., XuJ.K., WangN.L., KuriharaH., YaoX.S. (2008) Antioxidant phenanthrenes and lignans from Dendrobium nobile. Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences, 17, 314–318.
10.
ChenY., XuJ., YuH., QingC., ZhangY., WangL., LiuY., WangJ. (2008) Cytotoxic phenolics from Bulbophyllum odoratissimum. Food Chemistry, 107, 169–173.
11.
FanC., WangW., WangY., QinG., ZhaoW. (2001) Chemical constituents from Dendrobium densiflorum. Phytochemistry, 57, 1255–1258.
12.
GuoX.Y., WangJ., WangN.L., KitanakaS., YaoX.S. (2007) 9,10-Dihydrophenanthrene derivatives from Pholidota yunnanensis and scavenging activity on DPPH free radical. Journal of Asian Natural Products Research, 9, 165–174.
GuoX.Y., WangJ., WangN.L., KitanakaS., LiuH.W., YaoX.S. (2006) New stilbenoids from Pholidota yunnanensis and their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 54, 21–25.
KapadiaG.J., AzuineM.A., BalasubramanianV., SridharR. (2001) Aminonaphthoquinones-a novel class of compounds with potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum. Pharmacological Research, 43, 363–367.
18.
SritularakB., TantrakarnsakulK., LipipunV., LikhitwitayawuidK. (2013) Flavonoids with anti-HSV activity from the root bark of Artocarpus lakoocha. Natural Product Communications, 8, 1079–1080.
19.
DesjardinsR.E., CanfieldC.J., HaynesJ.D., ChulayJ.D. (1979) Quantitative assessment of antimalarial activity in vitro by a semiautomated microdilution technique. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 16, 710–718.
20.
TragerW., JensenJ.B. (1976) Human malaria parasites in continuous culture. Science, 193, 673–675.
21.
PlumbJ.A., MilroyR., KareS.B. (1989) Effects of the pH dependence of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide-formazan absorption on chemosensitivity determined by a novel tetrazolium based assay. Cancer Research, 49, 4435–4440.