| Natural product research plays a crucial role in the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of human diseases. One plant genus that has been shown to contain a variety of compounds with many different activities but has yet to be thoroughly investigated is the genus Lonchocarpus (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae). In this work, three species of Lonchocarpus from Monteverde, Costa Rica were investigated. Each of the species underwent antioxidant-guided fractionation to isolate compounds that are responsible for the extracts' antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using two antioxidant assays, the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay and the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay. Several compounds were isolated and identified; these compounds were found to be different than any compounds identified previously in other Lonchocarpus species. Unfortunately, none of the compounds isolated were found to have significant antioxidant activity, but further studies could provide insight into other uses for these compounds. |
