Anti-Proliferative Acyl Phenols and Arylnonanoids from the Fruit Rind of Myristica malabarica Lam.

Phytochemical investigation of the methanol extract of the fruit rind of Myristica malabarica led to the isolation of eight known compounds that were identified as malabaricones A-D, promalabaricones B and C, 1-(2,6-dihydroxyphenyl)tetradecan-1-one, and ericanone by comparison with literature spectroscopic data. The structures of malabaricones A-D, promalabaricone B, and 1-(2,6-dihydroxyphenyl)tetradecan-1-one were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. In vitro assay of the isolated phenols indicated that they exhibited moderate anti-proliferative activity against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell. Compounds (1, 3, 5, 6 and 7) had the most potent activities, whereas the anti-proliferative activities of compounds 2 and 4 were less potent.