Anticholinesterase and Antioxidant Constituents from Gloiopeltis furcata

Activity-directed isolation of the ethyl acetate, methylene chloride and n -hexane fractions of Gloiopeltis furcata resulted in the isolation of 18 compounds. Their structures were elucidated as 2-(3-hydroxy-5-oxotetra- hydrofuran-3-yl)acetic acid (1), glutaric acid (2), succinic acid (3), nicotinic acid (4), (E)-4-hydroxyhex-2-enoic acid (5), cholesterol (6), 7-hydroxycholesterol (7), uridine (8), glycerol (9), 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxybenzene- 1,3-diol (10), (5 E, 7 E)-9-oxodeca-5,7-dienoic acid (11), (Z)-3-ethylidene-4-methylpyrrolidine-2,5-dione (12), dehy- drovomifoliol (13), loliolide (14), cholesteryl stearate (15), palmitic acid (16), cis -5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (17) and a -linolenic acid (18) on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical evidences. Their anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities were evaluated via inhibitory activities on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyryl- cholinesterase (BChE) as well as scavenging activities on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and per-oxynitrite (ONOO^-). All isolated compounds (1-18) exhibited moderate AChE inhibitory activities with IC 50 values ranging from 1.14-12.50 m g/ml, whereas 1, 7, 9, 17, and 18 showed mild BChE inhibitory activities with IC 50 values ranging from 5.57-15.89 m g/ml. Although most of the compounds isolated were lacking the scaveng- ing activity on DPPH radical and ONOO, 5 and 10 showed good DPPH radical scavenging activity, and 5, 10, and 16 showed potent ONOO scavenging activity.