Lupane- and Friedelane-Type Triterpenoids from Celastrus stylosus

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Pharmacology
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• Celastrus stylosus is a plant species with potential medicinal properties.
• Triterpenoids are a class of natural compounds known for diverse biological activities.
• The chemical constituents and bioactivities of C. stylosus have not been previously investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize chemical constituents from the roots of Celastrus stylosus.
• To evaluate the antiproliferative activities of the isolated compounds against human cancer cell lines.

Main Methods:

• Isolation of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation of new compounds via spectroscopic analyses (e.g., NMR, MS).
• In vitro antiproliferative assays against six human cancer cell lines (PANC-1, A549, PC-3, HepG2, SGC-7901, HCCLM3).

Main Results:

• Two new triterpenoids, 30-hydroxylup-20(29)-ene 3β-caffeate (1) and 24-nor-friedelan-6α,10-dihydroxy-1,2-dioxo-4,7-dien-29-oic acid (2), were identified.
• Eight known compounds (3-10) were also isolated and characterized.
• Compounds 3, 4, and 10 demonstrated antiproliferative activity against PC-3 and HCCLM3 cell lines, comparable to the positive control, taxol.

Conclusions:

• This study reports the first chemical investigation of Celastrus stylosus roots.
• Novel and known triterpenoids were successfully isolated and identified.
• Certain isolated triterpenoids exhibit promising antiproliferative potential against specific human cancer cell lines.