Antitumor quinazoline alkaloids from the seeds of Peganum harmala

Abstract

A phytochemical study on the methanol extracts from the seeds of Peganum harmala L. led to a new quizonaline alkaloid (S)-vasicinone-1-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1) and four known ones, (R)-vasicinone-1-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (2), (S)-vasicinone (3), vasicine (4), and deoxyvasicinone (5). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis including IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR, and specific rotation as well as by comparison of the data with those in the literature. All of the alkaloids were screened for antiproliferative activity against human gastric cancer cells MCG-803 with MTT method. Compounds 1 and 3 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity.

Keywords::

• Zygophyllaceae
• Peganum harmala
• quizonaline alkaloids
• (S)-vasicinone-1-O-β-d-glucopyranoside
• antiproliferative activity

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Prof. Dr. Hao Gao, Jinan University, for his generous help in the measurement of optical rotation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number U1203103]; the key project of Xinjiang Production & Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Tarim Basin [grant number BRZD1205].