Targeted Isolation of Hemitheion from Mostuea brunonis, a Proposed Biosynthetic Intermediate of Theionbrunonines.

Hemitheion (1), a new sulfur-containing vobasane-type indole alkaloid, was isolated, together with three known compounds, vobasine (2), gelsedine (3), and gelsemicine (4), from the alkaloid extract of the stems of Mostuea brunonis Didr. (Gelsemiaceae). Compound 1 could be straightforwardly isolated. Its structure was elucidated by a combination of spectroscopic methods. Besides corresponding to a formerly postulated biosynthetic intermediate toward theionbrunonines, hemitheion (1) stands among the few monomeric vobasanes lacking an oxygen at C-3. Hemitheion (1) showed moderate antiplasmodial activity in the micromolar range against the strain FcB1 of Plasmodium falciparum and no cytotoxic activity against the MRC-5 cell line at 20 μM.