A Cytotoxic Butenolide, Two New Dolabellane Diterpenoids, a Chroman and a Benzoquinol Derivative Formosan Casearia membranacea

Abstract

Investigation of a cytotoxic chloroform-soluble fraction of the stem of Casearia membranacea (Flacourtiaceae) led to the isolation of five new compounds, including one butenolide, casealactone (1), one chroman, caseamemin (2), two dolabellane diterpenoids, casearimene A (3) and casearimene B (4), one benzoquinol ether, casearinone (5), together with fifteen known compounds, including two amides, N-trans-feruloyltyramine (6) and N-cis-feruloyltyramine (7), six steroids, β-sitosterol (8), stigmast-5-ene-3β,7α-diol (9), stigmast-5-ene-3β,7β-diol (10), stigmastane-3β,5α,6β-triol (11), β-sitostenone (12), β-sitosterol 3-O-β-glucoside (13), two triterpenoids, squalene (14) and friedelin (15), one lignan, (±)-syringaresinol (16), two benzenoids, syringaldehyde (17) and vanillic acid (18), one ester, methyl hexadecanoate (19), and anthraquinone (20), respectively. Among these isolates, 1 showed cytotoxicity against P-388 and HT-29 cancer cell lines in vitro, and 6 and 7 showed cytotoxicity against the P-388 cancer cell line. The structures of these compounds were determined by means of spectroscopic techniques, and the structure of 3 was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis.

Casearia membranacea - Flacourtiaceae - stems - butenolide - casealactone - chroman - caseamemin - dolabellane diterpenoid - casearimene A - casearimene B - benzoquinol ether - casearinone - cytotoxicity

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