Chemical constituents and bioactivity of selected Malaysian plants

Natural products have always been a source of novel drug leads. Since 1981, over 50% prescription drugs are naturally derived or inspired. Secondary metabolites found in plants are of interest with their widely known therapeutic benefits. This study screens four Malaysian plants for their bioactive properties. The methanol extract of Aquilaria malaccensis leaves were discovered to have strong antioxidant properties and considerably better antimicrobial and anticancer activity compared to others. Isolation and purification was carried out in hopes of obtaining purified compounds with potentially improved bioactivity. Compound 22-6-2 was isolated and identified as violanthin based on spectroscopic data.