Isatisine A, a novel alkaloid with an unprecedented skeleton from leaves of Isatis indigotica.

9alpha,13alpha-Dihydroxylisopropylidenylisatisine A (1), which was derived from isatisine A (2) and possessed an unprecedented fused pentacyclic skeleton, was isolated from the leaves of Isatis indigotica Fort. The structure and relative configuration were elucidated on the basis of extensive NMR analyses and finally determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 showed moderate anti-HIV-1 activity with EC50 = 37.8 microM and SI = 7.98.