Bioactive constituents of Indigofera spicata.

Four new flavanones, designated as (+)-5″-deacetylpurpurin (1), (+)-5-methoxypurpurin (2), (2S)-2,3-dihydrotephroglabrin (3), and (2S)-2,3-dihydrotephroapollin C (4), together with two known flavanones (5 and 6), three known rotenoids (7-9), and one known chalcone (10) were isolated from a chloroform-soluble partition of a methanol extract from the combined flowers, fruits, leaves, and twigs of Indigofera spicata, collected in Vietnam. The compounds were obtained by bioactivity-guided isolation using the HT-29 human colon cancer, 697 human acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Raji human Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines. The structures of 1-4 were established by extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments, and the absolute configurations were determined by the measurement of specific rotations and CD spectra. The cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds were tested against the HT-29, 697, Raji, and CCD-112CoN human normal colon cells. Also, the quinone reductase induction activities of the isolates were determined using the Hepa 1c1c7 murine hepatoma cell line. In addition, cis-(6aβ,12aβ)-hydroxyrotenone (7) was evaluated in an in vivo hollow fiber bioassay using HT-29, MCF-7 human breast cancer, and MDA-MB-435 human melanoma cells.