Two Cytotoxic Sesquiterpene Lactones from the Leaves of Xanthium strumarium and their in vitro Inhibitory Activity on Farnesyltransferase

Abstract

Two xanthanolide sesquiterpene lactones, 8-epi-xanthatin (1) and 8-epi-xanthatin epoxide (2), isolated from the leaves of Xanthium strumarium (Compositae), demonstrated a significant inhibition on the proliferation of cultured human tumor cells, i. e., A549 (non-small cell lung), SK-OV-3 (ovary), SK-MEL-2 (melanoma), XF498 (central nervous system) and HCT-15 (colon) in vitro. They were also found to inhibit the farnesylation process of human lamin-B by farnesyltransferase (FTase), in a dose-dependent manner in vitro (IC₅₀ value was calculated as 64 and 58 μM, respectively). Due to the relatively high concentrations of 1 and 2 required to obtain an FTase inhibition as compared with those necessary for a cytotoxic effect on tumor cells, it remains unclear whether a relationship between these two activities exists.

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