The Phytochemical Profile and Anticancer Activity of Anthemis tinctoria and Angelica sylvestris Used in Estonian Ethnomedicine.

The aerial parts of Anthemis tinctoria L. and Angelica sylvestris L. and the roots of A. sylvestris have been used as traditional anticancer remedies in Estonian ethnomedicine. The aim of this study was to investigate content of essential oils (by gas chromatography) and polyphenolic compounds (using two different methods of high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)) of both plant species, as well as the in vitro anti-cancer effects of their essential oils and methanolic extracts. The average (n = 5 samples) yield of essential oils was 0.15%, 0.13%, and 0.17%, respectively. The principal compounds of the essential oil from the aerial parts of A. tinctoria were palmitic acid (15.3%), p-cymene (12.6%), and α-muurolene (12.5%), and α-pinene (45.4%), p-cymene (15.5%), and ß-myrcene (13.3%) in aerial parts of A. sylvestris, while isocaryophyllene oxide (31.9%), α-bisabolol (17.5%), and α-pinene (12.4%) were the main constituents in the roots. The most abundant phenolic compounds in aerial parts were the derivatives of caffeic acid, quinic acid, and quercetin; the main compounds in roots of A. sylvestris were chlorogenic acid, quinic acid, and naringenin. The strongest anticancer effects were observed in essential oils of A. sylvestris roots and aerial parts on human carcinoma in the mouth cells (KB, IC50 19.73 µg/mL and 19.84 µg/mL, respectively). The essential oil of A. tinctoria showed a strong effect on KB and LNCaP cells (27.75-29.96 µg/mL). The methanolic extracts of both plants had no effect on the cancer cells studied.

Flavonoids and alkaloids from the rhizomes of Zephyranthes ajax Hort. and their cytotoxicity.

A new flavanol derivative, (2R,3R)-3-acetoxy-7-hydroxy-3',4'-methylenedioxyflavan (1), was co-isolated from the rhizomes of Zephyranthes ajax Hort. with the following seven known compounds: 7-hydroxyflavan (2), 7,4'-dihydroxyflavan (3), 7,4'-dihydroxy-8-methylflavan (4), 7,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavan (5), 5,4'-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-6-methylflavan (6), 7-hydroxy-3',4'-methylenedioxyflavanone (7) and haemanthamine (8). Their structures were elucidated by combining 1D-/2D-NMR, CD, UV and HRESIMS data, and comparisons with reported data in literature were made. Among these known compounds, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 were isolated from the genus Zephyranthes for the first time. In addition, the cytotoxicity assay indicated that compound 8 has potent cytotoxic activity against human hepatocellular carcinoma (the HepG2 cell line), human lung carcinoma (the SK-LU-1 cell line), human carcinoma in the mouth (the KB cell line), human colon carcinoma (the SW480 cell line) and human stomach gastric adenocarcinoma (the AGS cell line), with IC50 values ranging from 4.4 to 11.3 µM. This is the first study reporting the cytotoxicity of compound 8 against the SK-LU-1 cancer cell lines.

chiro-Inositol Derivatives from Chisocheton paniculatus Showing Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Production.

Six new chiro-inositol derivatives (1-6) were isolated from the leaves of Chisocheton paniculatus collected in Vietnam. Their chemical structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS analyses. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. Compound 4 exhibited potent inhibitory activity for NO production with an IC50 value of 7.1 µM.

Three new steroidal saponins from Aspidistra letreae plants and their cytotoxic activities.

Three new steroidal saponins, aspiletreins A-C (1-3), together with 2H-chromen-2-one (4), and α-tocopherol (5), were isolated from whole Aspidistra letreae plants collected in Vietnam. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of spectroscopic analyses, including 1D- and 2D-NMR, IR, and HRESIMS, and by comparison with the reported data in the literature. Compounds 1-3 exhibited moderate cytotoxicities against the LU-1, HeLa, MDA-MB-231, HepG2, and MKN-7 human cancer cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 7.69 ± 0.40 to 20.46 ± 3.11 µM.