RESUMO
Bioactivity-directed fractionation of the CHCl3-MeOH extract of the leaves of Celaenodendron mexicanum by means of the brine shrimp lethality test and chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of three carboxylic acid triterpenes, the new tirucalla-type triterpene, 3 alpha-hydroxytirucalla-7,24Z-dien-26-oic acid, 3-oxotirucalla-7,24Z-dien-26-oic acid, and epi-oleanolic acid, and three biflavonoids amentoflavone, podocarpusflavone A, and podocarpusflavone B. Four non-active compounds friedelin, maytensifolin B, 3 beta-hydroxyfriedelan-16-one, and celaenodendrolide were also obtained. epi-Oleanolic acid was the most active against brine shrimps with LC50 value of 23.3 microM. In addition, all isolates were tested for in vitro antiprotozoal and cytotoxic activities. 3-Oxotirucalla-7,24Z-dien-26-oic acid and epi-oleanolic acid showed the highest activity against Leishmania donovani promastigotes with IC50 values of 13.7 and 18.8 microM, respectively. Only 3-oxotirucalla-7,24Z-dien-26-oic acid showed activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei bloodstream forms with IC50 value of 16.8 microM.