Boyom et al. Malaria Journal 2010, 9(Suppl 2):P6 http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/S2/P6 POSTER PRESENTATIONS Open Access Falcipain 2 inhibitors and antiplasmodial compounds from a bio-guided fractionation of the fruits of Sorindeia juglandifolia A. Rich. (Anacardiaceae) growing in Cameroon Fabrice F Boyom1*, Eugénie K Madiesse1,2, Jean J Bankeu3, Valere P Tsouh1, Bruno N Lenta3, Wilfred F Mbacham2, Etienne Tsamo3, Paul HA Zollo1, Jiri Gut4, Philip J Rosenthal4 From Parasite to Prevention: Advances in the understanding of malaria Edinburgh, UK. 20-22 October 2010 Background Discovering new lead compounds with the potential to become usable drugs against malaria is a crucial step to ensuring a sustainable global pipeline for innovative products. We describe here the results of an antimalarial activity-driven fractionation of the fruits of Sorindeia juglandifolia growing in Cameroon. which were pooled on the basis of thin layer chromatography patterns. Resulting fractions were tested in vitro against the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-resistant strain W2, and the recombinant cysteine protease Falcipain 2 (F2) [1]. Two fractions showed the best potency and were selected for phytochemical investigation guided by biological activity. Materials and methods Fresh fruits were collected by an ethnobotanist in Yaoundé area in May 2009. The plant was dried at Room Temperature during 7 days, powdered and extracted using organic solvents. The extract was fractionated by flash chromatography over silica gel (70-230 mesh, Merck, 7 x 42 cm), eluting with gradients of hexane-ethyl acetate mixtures, and resulted in 35 fractions, Results The main end-compounds afforded through the phytochemical investigation were found to be known (Figure 1), 2,3,6-trihydroxy benzoic acid (1), and 2,3,6-trihydroxy methyl benzoate (2) that exhibited low micromolar inhibitory concentrations against P. falciparum W2 and Falcipain 2 respectively. Figure 1 Antimalarial compounds isolated from Sorindeia juglandifolia. 1 Laboratory of Phytobiochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, P.O., Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © 2010 Boyom et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Boyom et al. Malaria Journal 2010, 9(Suppl 2):P6 http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/S2/P6 Page 2 of 2 Conclusion The isolated compounds have not been previously investigated for antimalarial activity, and therefore suggesting further investigation. Author details 1 Laboratory of Phytobiochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, P.O., Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon. 2 Laboratory for Public Health Biothechnology, Biotechnology Centre, UniversityofYaoundé 1, P.O. Box 8094, Yaoundé, Cameroon. 3Laboratory of Natural Products, Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon. 4Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California; San Francisco, 94943 USA. Published: 20 October 2010 Reference 1. Boyom FF, Madiesse KEA, Tepongning R, Mbacham WF, Tsamo E, Amvam Zollo PH, Gut J, Rosenthal PJ: Antiplasmodial activity of extracts from seven medicinal plants used in malaria treatment in Cameroon. J Ethnopharmacol 2009, 123:483-488. doi:10.1186/1475-2875-9-S2-P6 Cite this article as: Boyom et al.: Falcipain 2 inhibitors and antiplasmodial compounds from a bio-guided fractionation of the fruits of Sorindeia juglandifolia A. Rich. (Anacardiaceae) growing in Cameroon. Malaria Journal 2010 9(Suppl 2):P6. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer review • No space constraints or color figure charges • Immediate publication on acceptance • Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar • Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit