Antitumor constituents from the leaves of Carya cathayensis

This study aimed to find cytotoxic chemical constituents from Carya cathayensis leaves (LCC) by using various chromatographic procedures. Identification of the chemical constituents was carried out by various spectroscopic techniques and classical chemical methods. The cytotoxic activity of the constituents was assayed on HeLa and HepG2 cell lines by staining with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiahiazol-2-y1)-2,5-di-phenytetrazolium bromide (MTT). Six flavanoids, namely (1) pinostrobin, (2) pinostrobin chalcone, (3) wogonin, (4) cardamonin, (5) alpinetin and (6) tectochrysin were identified from this species. Compounds 2-6 were isolated from this kind of plant for the first time. MTT results showed that wogonin has a moderate cytotoxic activity with IC(50) values of 17.03 ± 2.41 and 44.23 ± 3.87 µM against HeLa and HepG2 cell lines, respectively. According to the correlation of primary the structure and activity, 8-methoxy substituent in these flavones may be a major factor of the antitumor activity.