Dysoxylum malabaricum

Although it is totally synthetic the model for the novel flavonoid structure of flavopiridol (42) is a natural product, rohitukine (43), the constituent responsible for anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity isolated from Dysoxylum binectariferum Hook, f (Meliaceae). D. binectariferum is phylogenetically related to the Ayurvedic plant Dysoxylum malabaricum Bedd. used for rheumatoid arthritis. 

Dysoxylum malabaricum stembark is used in traditional medicine in India for rheumatoid arthritis and bioassay guided fractionation for antiinflammatory activity of the stem bark of the related species D. binectariferum led to the isolation of rohitukine (7) as the major active component [16]. This compound showed good activity in a variety of animal models and led to the production of many analogues [13]. The most active of these could be termed flavonoids and are discussed above... 

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