Quassinoids from Soulamea amara

Quassinoids.—2 -AcetylgIaucarubine (98) and a new antineoplastic quassinoid, 13,18-dehydroglaucarubinone (99), have been isolated from Simarouba amara. The related 13,18-dehydroglaucarubol-15-isovalerate (100) has been reported from Ailanthus excelsa. The details of the crystal structural analyses of samaderin 7A (101), from Samadera indica, and 6-hydroxypicrasin B (102), from Soulamea species, have appeared. 

Soulamea amara Lam., is a Simaroubaceae indigenous to Vanuatu (New-Hebrides). The new quassinoid 15-O-benzoylbrucein (204) was isolated from the aerial parts, and the structure has been established from spectral data and by single-crystal X-ray [84],... 

Until 1985, only six quassinoids possessing the C25 basic skeleton were known simarolide (209) from the bark of Simarouba amara, picrasin A (210) isolated from Picrasma quassioides, soulameolide (211) from Soulamea tomentosa, simarinolide (212) and guanepolide (213) from the root bark of the Simaba cf. orinocencis, and deacetylsimarolide (214) isolated from the fruits of Simaba moretii [1]. 

Several quassinoids are known to have antileukemic activity (Blasko and Cordell, 1988 Cordell, 1978 Polonsky, 1983). Only compounds with a C20 skeleton have antileukemic activity. Quassimarin (51) from Quassia amara and bruceoside A (52) from Brucea javanica and a series of other quassinoids from Brucea antidysenterica (all Simarou-baceae) (Fig. 25.12) are active in this regard. Bruceantin (53) has a high degree of antitumor activity in P-388, LE, LL and B16 tissue culture systems (Cordell, 1978). Six quassinoids from Simaba multiflora and Soulamea soulameoides were shown to be active against several mmor systems (Klocke et al., 1985). 

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