Two new sesquiterpenes from Sonchus oleraceus and inhibitory mechanism on murine haemangioendothelioma (EOMA) cell lines

Abstract

Sonchus oleraceus is a kind of medicinal and edible plant which is widely distributed. In this study, two new sesquiterpenes 1 and 2 along with three known compounds 3-5 were isolated from Sonchus oleraceus by the methods of column chromatography. The structures of the two novel compounds were constructed on the basis of HR-MS and NMR spectra. Cytotoxicities of 1 and 2 were assayed on EOMA cell lines and 1 exhibited no inhibitory effect while 2 elicited moderate inhibitory effect on EOMA cells with IC₅₀ value of 26.5 μM. Western Blot assay indicated that 2 could suppress EOMA cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis through Bax/caspase-3 pathway.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Sonchus oleraceus
• Asteraceae
• sesquiterpenes
• cytotoxicity
• western blot

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Dazhi Li, Harbin Institute of Technology, for his help in determining the compounds by NMR spectra and constructing the structures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.