LAUSR

Abstract The stem bark of Cussonia bancoensis is used traditionally for the treatment of different types of infection and pain. A bioassay guided fractionation of the methanol stem bark extract led to the isolation of five pentacyclic triterpenes and glycosides identified based on spectroscopic data as 23-hydroxyursolic acid (CB1), hederagenin (CB2), 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-echinocystic acid (CB3), 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl- oleanolic acid (CB4) and 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-ursolic acid (CB5). CB2 - CB5 are being reported for the first time from this species. The compounds were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against ten microorganisms using the HT-SPOTi method. CB3 demonstrated remarkable antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, S. pyogens, E. faecalis, S. typhi and C. albicans at MICs between 3.12 and 12.5 µg/mL. Among the studied compounds, it was observed that hydroxylation of position C-16 of the oleanane skeleton may enhance antimicrobial activity. This study gives insight into the anti-infective constituents of the stem bark of C. bancoensis and justifies its use in ethnomedicine.