Three new C-alkylated flavonoids from Desmodium oblongum

Area of Science:

• Natural Products Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Desmodium oblongum is a plant source of bioactive compounds.
• Flavonoids are a class of natural products with diverse biological activities.
• Cytotoxicity of plant-derived compounds is of interest for drug discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize new C-alkylated flavonoids from Desmodium oblongum.
• To evaluate the cytotoxic activity of isolated compounds against human cancer cell lines.

Main Methods:

• Isolation of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation employing extensive 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
• Cytotoxicity assays using NB4, SHSY5Y, MCF7, and PC3 cell lines to determine IC50 values.

Main Results:

• Three new C-alkylated flavonoids (1-3) and three known flavonoids (4-6) were isolated.
• Compound 1 demonstrated cytotoxicity against NB4, SHSY5Y, and MCF7 cells (IC50: 6.5–8.5 μM).
• Compound 2 showed activity against SHSY5Y and PC3 cells (IC50: 5.0–6.8 μM).
• Compound 3 was cytotoxic to SHSY5Y and MCF7 cells (IC50: 6.4–9.4 μM).

Conclusions:

• New C-alkylated flavonoids with cytotoxic properties were identified from Desmodium oblongum.
• The isolated compounds, particularly novel flavonoids 1-3, exhibit promising anti-cancer activity.
• These findings support the potential of Desmodium oblongum as a source for novel anti-cancer drug leads.