The bryophytes, with more than 20 000 species, can be found everywhere in the world except in the sea. In the Hungarian flora, 659 species are present, with the predominance of mosses. Although not applied in human nutrition, several bryophytes have been widely used as medicinal plants, especially in China for various illnesses.
As part of a screening project, 168 aqueous and organic extracts of 42 selected bryophyte species were screened in vitro for antiproliferative activity on a panel of human gynecological cancer cell lines and for antibacterial activity. Paraleucobryum longifolium (Ehrh. ex Hedw.) Loeske (Dicranaceae) exerted remarkable bioactivity in both assays, therefore our aim was to perform an extensive phytochemical analysis of this species and to isolate its active components.
By using different chromatographic techniques, 3 compounds were isolated from the plant, the structures of which was determined by 1D and 2D NMR methods and HRMS. Compound 1 was identified as a phenanthrenene dimer (paraleucobrin A). The other two compounds (paraleucobrin B and C) were identified as derivatives of paraleucobrin A. This is the first report of phenanthrenes from this genus, and considering the bioactivity profile of these types of compounds, the phenanthrenes isolated by us may play role in the bioactivities of P. longifolium.
Acknowledgements
Financial support from the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (OTKA K115796), Economic Development and Innovation Operative Programme GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00012 and János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences are gratefully acknowledged.