Isoflavanones from Desmodium oxyphyllum and their cytotoxicity

Abstract

Two new isoflavanones, (3R)-7-hydroxy-4′-methoxy-5-methoxycarbonyl-isoflavanone (1) and (3R)-8-hydroxy-4′-methoxy-7-methoxycarbonyl-isoflavanone (2), together with seven known isoflavanones (3–9) were isolated from Desmodium oxyphyllum of the Leguminosae family. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including extensive 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Compound 1 showed good cytotoxicity against NB4 and SHSY5Y cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 3.1 and 2.5 μM; compound 2 exhibited cytotoxicity against PC3 cell lines with a IC₅₀ value of 3.6 μM; compound 4 showed cytotoxicity against A549 and SHSY5Y cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 3.6 and 2.8 μM; and compound 5 displayed cytotoxicity against NB4, SHSY5Y, and MCF7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 2.6, 3.8, and 2.8 μM, respectively. Other compounds also showed moderate cytotoxicity for some tested cell lines with IC₅₀ values between 5.4 and 8.8 μM.

Keywords::

• Desmodium oxyphyllum
• isoflavanone
• cytotoxicity

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21302164), the Excellent Scientific and Technological Team of Yunnan High School (No. 2010CI08), the Yunnan University of Nationalities Green Chemistry and Functional Materials Research for Provincial Innovation Team (No. 2011HC008), the National Undergraduates Innovating Experimentation Project (No. 2011HX18), and Start-up Funds of Yunnan University of Nationalities.