Bauerenol Acetate, the Pentacyclic Triterpenoid from Tabernaemontana longipes, is an Antitrypanosomal Agent

The Latin American plant was studied in this work as a potential source of antiparasitic agents. The chloroform extract of leaves was separated into several fractions, and tested for antitrypanosomal activity. One of the fractions displayed significant growth inhibitory activity against . The active principle in the fraction was isolated, purified, and characterized by NMR and mass spectrometry. The antitrypanosomal agent in the CHCl₃ extract of leaves is the pentacyclic triterpenoid bauerenol acetate. A metabolite profiling assay suggest that the triterpenoid influences cholesterol metabolism. The molecular target(s) of bauerenol and its acetate, like many other antiparasitic pentacyclic triterpenoids is/are unknown, but they present privileged structural scaffolds that can be explored for structure-based activity optimization studies using phenotypic assays.