DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v26i1.8

Keywords: Dipterocarpus kerrii; resveratrol oligomers; (+)-α-viniferin; (-)-laevifonol; radical scavenging

Abstract

The Dipterocarpus genus is a member of the Dipterocarpaceae family, which exhibits a broad distribution in the tropical region of Southeast Asia, particularly in countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. There has been limited research conducted thus far regarding the chemical constituents and bioactivities of this genus. Hence, Dipterocarpus kerrii was selected to be phytochemically studied as well as to evaluate the radical scavenging properties of the crude extract. The twigs of D. kerrii were collected from Jengka Forest Reserve, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Pahang and air-dried for two weeks before being ground to granulated form. The granules (650 g) were macerated in acetone, followed by filtration and evaporation to give a crude acetone extract. The crude acetone extract (178 g) was subjected to fractionation and purification by vacuum liquid chromatography and column chromatography respectively to afford two resveratrol oligomers namely (+)-α-viniferin (1) (12 mg) and (-)-laevifonol (2) (5 mg). In addition, the crude acetone extract that was tested against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radicals exhibited potent radical scavenging activities with the IC50 values of 11.20 ± 0.54 and 32.37 ± 0.28 µg/mL, respectively.