A novel diarylheptanoid-bearing sesquiterpene moiety from the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum

Abstract

A new diarylheptanoid analogue-bearing sesquiterpene moiety, named Alpinisin A, was isolated from the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum Hance. The new structure was determined by various spectroscopic techniques ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR), ¹³C-attached proton test (¹³C-APT), heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC), ¹H-¹H correlation spectroscopy (¹H–¹HCOSY), nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR–ESI–MS). The compound was tested for cytotoxic activity in vitro against human tumour cell lines (gastric carcinoma cell -7901 (SGC-7901), Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and Caski), which showed significant inhibitory effects with IC₅₀ levels of 11.42, 15.14 and 14.78 μM, respectively. The novel chemical structure characterised with a diarylheptanoid linked to a chain-like sesquiterpenoid should be highlighted.

Keywords:

• Alpinia officinarum Hance
• Alpinisin A
• cytotoxicity activity

Funding

This work was supported by the Hainan Provincial Major Science and Technology Special Project [grant number ZDZX2013008-3]; Hainan Provincial Special Project of Modernization of Chinese Medicines [grant number ZY201430].