Three new sesquiterpenes from Pterocarpus santalinus

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Pterocarpus santalinus (Red Sanders) heartwood is a source of bioactive compounds.
• Sesquiterpenes are a class of natural products with diverse biological activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize new sesquiterpenes from Pterocarpus santalinus.
• To evaluate the cytotoxic activities of isolated compounds against various cancer cell lines.

Main Methods:

• Isolation and purification of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy (¹H, ¹³C, HSQC, HMBC, NOESY) and HRESIMS.
• Determination of absolute configurations using Modified Mosher's method.
• In vitro cytotoxic activity assays against HepG2, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and Hela cell lines.

Main Results:

• Three new sesquiterpenes, canusesnol K (1), canusesnol L (2), and 12,15-dihydroxycurcumene (3), were identified.
• Five known sesquiterpenes (4-8) were also isolated and characterized.
• Compound 1 (canusesnol K) demonstrated moderate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer) cells.

Conclusions:

• Pterocarpus santalinus heartwood yields novel sesquiterpenes with potential anticancer properties.
• Canusesnol K is a promising candidate for further investigation in breast cancer therapy.