Abstract
An ethyl acetate fraction of aerial parts of E. esula L. collected in Germany was shown to exhibit irritant and weak tumor promoting but not solitary carcinogenic activity. The diterpene moiety of the irritants and tumor promotors contained in E. esula was identified to be ingenol (I). From aerial parts the irritant 3-0-(2E,4Z)-decadienoylingenol (III, Euphorbia factor E1) and a mixture EM of irritant Euphorbia factors shown to contain Euphorbia factor E1, 3-0-(2,4,6)-decatrienoylingenol (V, Euphorbia factor E2) and 3-0-(2,4,6,8)-dodecatetraenoylingenol (VI, Euphorbia factor E3) were isolated. The antileukemic ingenol-3,20-dibenzoate (IX) was not found in the plant material investigated here. IX, a strong irritant, prepared by partial synthesis from ingenol (I) proved to be a weak tumor promoter as well.
Key Word Index
Euphorbia esula
- Euphorbiaceae - Irritant diterpenes - Ingenol - Tumor promotion - Antileukemic activity
