Cytotoxic constituents of Alocasia macrorrhiza
AbstractAn indole alkaloid, 2-(5-hydroxy-1H-indol-3-yl)-2-oxo-acetic acid (1) isolated for the first time from nature, in addition to the nine known compounds 5-hydroxy-1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid methyl ester (2), alocasin B (3), hyrtiosin B (4), α-monopalmitin (5), 1-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(2S, 3R, 4E, 8Z)-2-[(2(R)-hydroctadecanoyl) amido]-4,8-octadecadiene-1,3-diol (6), 3-epi-betulinic acid (7), 3-epi-ursolic acid (8),β-sitosterol (9) andβ-sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucoside (10) were isolated from the rhizomes ofAlocasia macrorrhiza(Araceae). Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Of these compounds,6exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity against the four tested human cancer cell lines (IC50of about 10 µM against Hep-2 larynx cancer cells).