Abstract

Sonneratia alba J.E. Smith, Sonneratiaceae widely grows in mangrove forests. There were some studies on plants of mangrove forests, and these results showed they contained many interesting bioactive compounds. Nevertheless, Sonneratia alba has not much been studied, especially, has not yet been chemically and biologically studied in Viet Nam. From the petroleum ether extract of the leaves of Sonnertia alba, oleanolic acid (1), betulin (2), betulinic acid (3), alphitolic acid (4), methyl gallate (5) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (6) were isolated. Their structures were identified by comparing their NMR data as well as the physical properties with those in literatures. Among them, (1) had high yield (about 0.15% of dried leave) with numerous pharmacological activities including inhibitory activity against HIV-1 protease with IC50 of 6.3 mM, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer. So, Sonneratia alba should be exploited to afford to a valuable source in food and pharmaceutical products. Further studies on this plant are in progress.