Cytotoxic xanthones from the roots of Mesua ferrea L

Five undescribed xanthones, 4-methoxypyranojacareubin, 4-hydroxy-3-prenylpyranoxanthone, 1-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxyxanthone, 5-hydroxy-1,6,7-trimethoxyxanthone and 2-hydroxy-1,5-dimethoxyxanthone, together with thirty-three known xanthones were isolated from the roots of Mesua ferrea L. The structures of all isolated xanthones were elucidated based on spectroscopic methods. 5-Hydroxy-1,6,7-trimethoxyxanthone and 2-hydroxy-1,5-dimethoxyxanthone were also confirmed by X-ray diffraction data. In addition, the isolated compounds were determined for antibacterial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The known 1,5,6-trihydroxyxanthone showed cytotoxicity against A375, PC-3 and HaCaT cell lines with IC50 values of 5.73 μg/mL, 5.93 μg/mL and 8.94 μg/mL, respectively. [Display omitted] •Five previously undescribed xanthones were purified from Mesua ferrea.•5-Hydroxy-1,6,7-trimethoxyxanthone exhibited weak antibacterial activity against S. aureus ATCC 23235.•1,5,6-Trihydroxyxanthone showed potent cytotoxicity against A375, PC-3 and HaCaT cell lines.