Antibacterial constituents of Rumex nepalensis spreng and its emodin derivatives

The CH₂Cl₂-MeOH (1:1) extract of roots of Rumex nepalensis (Polygonaceae) displayed significant antibacterial activity against five bacterial strains with MICs (62.5-31.2 μg.mL^-1). The EtOAc soluble fraction displayed a significant activity against the same strains with MICs (31.2-3.9 μg.mL^-1). The purification of the EtOAc fraction yielded one new phenylisobenzofuranone derivative, berquaertiide (1), along with 19 known compounds (2-20). Their structures were elucidated based on the analysis of their NMR and MS data. All the isolated compounds were assessed for their antibacterial activity. Compound 2 was the most active against all the tested strains (15.7 to 1.9 μg.mL^-1), while compounds 3-7 displayed good activities on at least one of the tested strains. In addition, seven analogues (21-27) of compound 2 were prepared and further assessed for their antibacterial activity. Compounds 26 and 27 were most active than 2 against Salmonella enterica and Klebsiella pneumoniae with MIC (125 and 15.6 μg.mL^-1, respectively).