Isolation and identification of poisonous triterpenoids from Elaeodendron croceum

A phytochemical investigation of the poisonous Elaeodendron croceum leaves guided by cytotoxicity against Vero cells led to the isolation of five known compounds: 20-hydroxy-20-epi-tingenone (1), tingenone (2), tingenine B (3), 11alpha-hydroxy-beta-amyrin (4) and naringenin (5). Compounds 1 and 2 showed the highest toxicity against Vero cells (IC(50) values 2.65 nM and 8.23 microM, respectively). Cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds against three human cancer cell lines, HeLa, MCF-7 and SNO was also determined. Compounds 1 and 2 again showed the highest cytotoxicity, with IC(50) values ranging between 2.47 and 0.43 microM. This is the first report on the isolation of poisonous compounds from E. croceum, a species well known for its toxicity.