Three new phenanthrenone constituents from Trigonostemon lii

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• The Trigonostemon genus is a source of bioactive natural products.
• Phenanthrenones are a class of compounds with diverse biological activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize new phenanthrenone constituents from Trigonostemon lii.
• To evaluate the cytotoxic potential of isolated compounds against human tumor cell lines.

Main Methods:

• Phytochemical investigation of Trigonostemon lii using methanol extraction.
• Structure elucidation of novel compounds via spectroscopic analyses (1D NMR, 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, IR).
• Cytotoxicity assessment using the MTT assay on five human tumor cell lines (HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, SW480).

Main Results:

• Three new phenanthrenones, trigoxyphins U-W (1, 7, 9), were isolated, along with eight known compounds.
• The structures were confirmed through comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis.
• Trigoxyphin U (1) demonstrated notable cytotoxic activity across all tested human tumor cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 3.77 to 14.51 μM.

Conclusions:

• Trigonostemon lii is a valuable source of structurally diverse phenanthrenones.
• Trigoxyphin U exhibits promising cytotoxic properties, warranting further investigation for anticancer drug development.