Phytochemical Profiling and Biological Testing of the Constituents of the Australian Plant Haemodorum brevisepalum

Phytochemical profiling was undertaken on the crude extracts of the bulbs, stems, and the fruits of Haemodorum brevisepalum, to determine the nature of the chemical constituents present. This represents the first study to investigate the fruits of a species of Haemodorum. In total, 13 new and 17 previously reported compounds were isolated and identified. The new compounds were of the phenylphenalenone-type class, with a representative of a novel structural form, named tentatively “oxabenzochromenone” (1), a compound akin to an intermediate in a recently proposed phenylphenalenone metabolic network (2), seven new phenylphenalenones (4–10), four new phenylbenzoisochromenones (11–14), and a new phenylbenzoisochromenone derivative (18). The previously reported compounds identified were of the following structure classes: oxabenzochrysenone (3, 23–26), flavonol (15, 16), phenylbenzoisochromenone (17, 21, 22, 27–30), and phenylphenalenone (19, 20). Compounds 2–4, 6–9, 15–18, 21, 22, and 26 were subjected to antimicrobial evaluation with moderate activity observed against Staphylococcus aureus MRSA and slight activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Compounds 4, 6–9, 17, and 21 were also evaluated for anthelminthic activity against larvae of the blood-feeding parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus.