Anti-Alzheimer's flavanolignans from Ceiba pentandra aerial parts

Four flavanolignans, ceibapentains A (1) and B (2) and cinchonains Ia (3) and Ib (4), were isolated for the first time from an ethyl acetate extract of Ceiba pentandra (L) (Bombacaceae) aerial parts. The ceibapentains A (1) and B (2) are new compounds and their structures, including the absolute configurations, were determined by HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, and electronic circular dichroism analyses, then compared with reported data. Compounds 1–4 were tested for their anti-Alzheimer's activity via an assessment of their inhibitory effect on amyloid β42 aggregation using a thioflavin T assay. The results revealed that cinchonain Ia (3) showed a higher inhibitory effect (91%) than the standard curcumin (70%). Compounds 1, 2, and 4 exhibited moderate activity, with inhibition ratios of 43%, 47%, and 58%, respectively. A molecular docking study on the binding mode of 3 and curcumin with an amyloid β1–40 peptide fibril structure indicated a high affinity of cinchonain 1a (3) towards amyloid β1–40 peptide, in agreement with the experimental results. [Display omitted] •Isolation of two new and two known flavanolignans from Ceiba pentandra•Investigation of the anti-Alzheimer's activities of the isolated compounds•Assessment of their inhibitory effect on amyloid β42 aggregation•Molecular docking study on the binding mode of compounds with amyloid β1–40