The Aglaia genus, a member of the Meliaceae family, is generally recognized to include a number of secondary metabolite compounds with diverse structures and biological activities, including triterpenoids. Among the members of this genus, Aglaia cucullata has been reported to have unique properties and thrives exclusively in mangrove ecosystems. This plant is also known to contain various metabolites, such as flavaglines, bisamides, and diterpenoids, but there are limited reports on the isolation of triterpenoid compounds from its stem bark. Therefore, this research attempted to isolate and elucidate seven triterpenoids belonging to dammarane-type (1-7) from the stem bark of Aglaia cucullata. The isolated compounds included 20S,24S-epoxy-3α,25-dihydroxy-dammarane (1), dammaradienone (2), 20S-hydroxy-dammar-24-en-3-on (3), eichlerianic acid (4), (20S,24RS)-23,24-epoxy-24-methoxy-25,26,27-tris-nor dammar-3-one (5), 3α-acetyl-cabraleahydroxy lactone (6), and 3α-acetyl-20S,24S-epoxy-3α,25-dihydroxydammarane (7). Employing spectroscopic techniques, the chemical structures of the triterpenoids were identified using FTIR, NMR, and HRESITOF-MS. The cytotoxic activity of compounds 1-7 was tested with the PrestoBlue cell viability reagent against MCF-7 breast cancer, B16-F10 melanoma, and CV-1 normal kidney fibroblast cell lines. The results displayed that compound 5 had the highest level of bioactivity compared to the others. Furthermore, the IC50 values obtained were more than 100 μM, indicating the low potential of natural dammarane-type triterpenoids as anticancer agents. These findings provided opportunities for further studies aiming to increase their cytotoxic activities through semi-synthetic methods.
A total of five new mexicanolides (1-5), namely alliaxylines A-E, together with two known limonoids 6 and 7, were isolated and identified from Dysoxylum alliaceum (Blume) Blume ex. A.Juss. (Meliaceae). The structures of these compounds were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses, including HR-ESI-MS, UV, IR, 1D, and 2D NMR, as well as theoretical stimulation of NMR shifts with the DP4 + algorithm. Consequently, this study aimed to examine cytotoxic activities of these compounds against MCF-7 and A549 cell lines. The results implied that compound 2 was the most potent against the two tested cells, with IC50 values of 34.95 ± 0.21 and 44.39 ± 1.03 µM.
Two new azadirone-type limonoids, namely lasiocarpine A (1) and lasiocarpine B (2) were isolated from the fruit of Chisocheton lasiocarpus along with three known limonoids (3-5). UV, IR, one- and two- dimensional NMR, and mass spectrometry were used to determine the chemical structure of the isolated compounds. Furthermore, their cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was evaluated using PrestoBlue reagent. From these compounds, lasiocarpine A (1) showed the strongest activity with an IC50 value of 43.38 μM.
Three new dammarane-type triterpenoids, namely elliptaglin A-C (1-3) were isolated from the stem bark of Aglaia elliptica (C.DC.) Blume along with three known derivatives, namely (20S)-hydroxydammar-24-en-3-on (4), cabralealactone (5), and E-25-hydroperoxydammar-23-en-20-ol-3-one (6). Subsequently, their chemical structures were determined using HR-ESI-MS, FTIR, 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopic analysis as well as comparison with previous studies. The cytotoxicity activities of the isolated compounds against MCF-7 breast cancer and B16-F10 melanoma cell lines were then tested using PrestoBlue reagent. The analysis results showed that elliptaglin B (2) had the strongest activity against both cell lines with IC50 values of 60.98 and 51.83 µM, respectively.
Two undescribed sesquiterpenoids, namely dysoticans A and B, and three undescribed sesquiterpenoid dimers, namely dysoticans C-E, together with six analogs, were isolated from the stem bark of Dysoxylum parasiticum (Osbeck) Kosterm. (Meliaceae), growing in West Java, Indonesia. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis and theoretical simulations of ECD spectra and 13C NMR shifts. Dysoticans A and B possessed undescribed cadinanes with minor modifications, while C and D featured unprecedented pseudo-sesquiterpenoid dimers through O-ether linkages of cadinanes and guaianes, respectively. Dysotican E was also characterized as the true-sesquiterpenoid dimer featuring eudesmane-germacrene hybrid framework from the Meliaceae family. Furthermore, A-C and E showed moderate activities against the human breast cancer MCF-7 and cervical cancer HeLa cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 22.15 to 45.14 μM. D selectively exhibited significant cytotoxicity against the HeLa cell line with an IC50 value of 13.00 ± 0.13 μM.
Chisocarpene A (1) is a new tirucallane-type triterpenoid together with odoratone (2) and 24-methylenecycloartanol (3), isolated from the stem bark of Chisocheton lasiocarpus. The chemical structures of compounds 1-3 were elucidated through a detailed analysis of their spectroscopic data (IR, MS, 1 D, and 2 D NMR). The isolated compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line using a resazurin-based assay. Compound 1 showed the most potent activity (IC50 26.56 ± 1.01 µM) and was two-fold more active than the positive control.