Cytotoxic Cardiac Glycoside from the Parasitic Plant Cuscuta reflexa

• Published in: Chemistry of natural compounds 2017-09, Vol.53 (5), p.915-922
• Main Authors: Versiani, Muhammad Ali, Kanwal, Asma, Faizi, Shaheen, Farooq, Ahsana Dar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Cytotoxicity; Fractionation; In vivo methods and tests; Light emitting diodes; Medicine; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Organic Chemistry; Pharmacy; Plant Sciences; Prostate; Prostate cancer
• ISSN: 0009-3130; 1573-8388
• DOI: 10.1007/s10600-017-2154-5

Bioassay guided fractionation of the cytotoxic extract of the plant Cuscuta reflexa, employing cytotoxic assay against a panel of 60 cell lines, led to the isolation of 13 compounds identified as odoroside H ( 1 ), 21-hydroxyodoroside H ( 2 ), neritaloside ( 3 ), strospeside ( 4 ), 16- β -hydroxydigitoxin ( 5 ), N-trans and cis feruloyl tyramines ( 6 and 7 ), ethyl caffeate ( 8 ), coumarins ( 9 and 10 ), ursolic acid ( 11 ), β -sitosterol glucoside ( 12 ), and 4-O-p-coumaroyl- β -D-glucoside ( 13 ). Compound 2 was found to be a new natural product while 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 10 , and 11 are known compounds isolated from this source for the first time. Compounds 1 , 3 , and 4 possessed very good cytotoxic activity against renal and prostate cancer cell lines. Of these compounds, 1 showed a positive hollow fiber test and was selected for in vivo xenograft testing. The structures of compounds 1–5 have been established through chemical and spectral studies including UV, IR, mass, NMR ( 1 H and 13 C), and 2D NMR (COSY-45°, NOESY, HMQC, HMBC, and J-resolved) experiments.