Anti-babesial and anti-plasmodial compounds from Phyllanthus niruri.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of boiled aqueous extracts from the whole plant of Phyllanthus niruri led to the isolation of 1-O-galloyl-6-O-luteoyl-alpha-d-glucose (1), with IC(50) values of 4.7 microg/mL against Babesia gibsoni and 1.4 microg/mL against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. The known compounds beta-glucogallin (2), quercetin 3-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(2-->1)-O-beta-d-xylopyranoside (3), beta-sitosterol, and gallic acid were also isolated. Structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of their chemical and spectroscopic data.