Pentacyclic Triterpenoids from the Aerial Parts of Lantana camara and Their Nematicidal Activity by Sabira Begum* a ), Syeda Qamar Zehra a ), Bina Shaheen Siddiqui a ), Shahina Fayyaz b ),and Musarrat Ramzan b ) a )H.E.J.ResearchInstituteofChemistry,InternationalCenterforChemicalandBiologicalSciences, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan (e-mail: sabira@khi.comsats.net.pk) b )National Nematological Research Centre, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan Twonewolean-12-enetriterpenoids,camarolicacid(1)andlantrigloylicacid(2),havebeenisolated from the aerial parts of Lantana camara, along with ten known triterpenes, namely, camaric acid, lantanolic acid, lantanilic acid, pomolic acid, camarinic acid, lantoic acid, camarin, lantacin, camarinin, and ursolic acid. The new compounds have been characterized as 3,25-epoxy-3a-hydroxy-22b-{[( S)-3- hydroxy-2-methylidenebutanoyl]oxy}olean-12-en-28-oic acid (1) and 3,25-epoxy-3a-hydroxy-22b-[(3- methylbut-2-enoyl)oxy]olea-9(11),12-dien-28-oic acid (2) through spectroscopic studies and a chemical transformation. Seven of the constituents, namely pomolic acid, lantanolic acid, lantoic acid, camarin, lantacin, camarinin, and ursolic acid, were tested for nematicidal activity against root-knot nematode Meloidogyneincognita. Pomolicacid,lantanolicacid,andlantoicacidshowed100%mortalityat1mg/ml concentrationafter24h,whilecamarin,lantacin,camarinin,andursolicacidexhibited100%mortalityat this concentration after 48h. These results are comparable to those obtained with the conventional nematicidefuradan(100%mortalityat1mg/mlconcentrationafter24h). Introduction. – Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) is a hairy shrub, native to Tropical America, and cultivated as an ornamental or hedge plant. Its different parts are reputed for their use in traditional medicine for the treatment of various human ailmentssuchasulcers,eczemaeruptions,malaria,andrheumatism[1–3].Pharmaco- logical investigations indicated that extracts of the shoots of L. camara exhibit antibacterialproperties.Lancamarone,asteroidfromtheleaves,possessescardiotonic properties, while lantamine, an alkaloid from the stem and root bark, shows strong antipyretic and antispasmodic properties comparable with those of quinine [2]. Phytochemical studies undertaken by different groups resulted in the isolation of varioussteroids[4],terpenoids[5],andflavonoids[6].Thepresentstudywascarried outonthechemicalconstituentsoftheaerialpartsofthisplant,whichresultedinthe isolation and structure elucidation of two new triterpenoids, camarolic acid (1) and lantrigloylicacid(2),alongwithtenknowntriterpenoids,camaricacid,lantanolicacid, lantanilicacid,pomolicacid,camarinicacid,lantoicacid,camarin,lantacin,camarinin, and ursolic acid [7–10]. Seven of these compounds were tested for their nematicidal activityagainsttheroot-knotnematode Meloidogyne incognita. Rootknotnematodes (RKNs) Meloidogyne spp. are the most economically important group of plant parasiticnematodesworldwide,attackingnearlyeverycrop[11].Affectedplantsshow retardationandaccountforthemajorityofcroplossesduetoRKNs[12].Nematicides have had an influential effect in eliminating the nematodes attacking plants, but their CHEMISTRY&BIODIVERSITY–Vol.5(2008) 1856 # 2008 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich