Ficusanol, a new cinnamic acid derivative and other constituents from the roots of Ficus exasperata Vahl. (Moraceae) with antioxidant and cytotoxic activities

Phytochemical investigation of the roots of Ficus exasperata Vahl. (Moraceae) led to the isolation of a new cinnamic acid derivative, named ficusanol (1) along with eleven known compounds: 3-(6-methoxybenzo[b]furan-5-yl) propenoic acid (2), bergapten (3), oxypeucedanin hydrate (4), marmesin (5), decursinol (6), aridanin (7), betulinic acid (8), maslinic acid (9), a mixture of stigmasterol (10) and β-sitosterol (11), and sitosteryl-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (12). The structures of the new compound as well as those of the known ones were established by the means of usual spectroscopic methods: NMR (¹H, 13C, DEPT, COSY, HSQC and HMBC) data and HR-ESIMS data. Crude extract and compounds 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 were evaluated for their radical scavenging potency using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Accordingly, the compound 6 showed significant antioxidant activity with IC50 = 25.10 ± 0.91 μg/mL, whereas the other compounds showed only moderate activity at high concentrations. Compounds 2, 6 and 7 were also evaluated for their cytotoxic activity among which the compound 7 exhibited a strong cytotoxic activity with a viability percentage of 3.5% on mouse lymphoma cell line L5178Y.