Two new pregnanone derivatives with strong cytotoxic activity from Pachysandra axillaris

Two new, bioactive, pregnane-based natural products, pachysanonin (= 3beta,11alpha,12beta)-12-acetoxy-3-(dimethylamino)-11-[(3,4-dimethylpent-3-enoyl)oxy]pregnan-20-one; 1) and pachysanone (= (11alpha,12beta)-12-acetoxy-11-[(3,4-dimethylpent-3-enoyl)oxy]pregnan-3,20-dion; 2) have been isolated from Pachysandra axillaris. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods, and, in the case of 2, by single-crystal X-ray crystallography (Figure). Compound 2 showed significant antitumor activity against Lewis lung carcinoma (LCC) tumor cells, with an IC50 value of 0.020+/-0.006 microg/ml, which is equal or even lower than those of the well-known natural antitumor agents harringtonine (0.02), homoharringtonine (0.15), and adriamycin (0.06 microg/ml; positive control).