Cytotoxic activities of flavonoids from Centaurea scoparia.

Phytochemical studies on the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of Centaurea scoparia led to the isolation of two new flavonoids, 3',4'-dihydroxy-(3'',4''-dihydro-3''-hydroxy-4''-acetoxy)-2'',2''-dimethylpyrano-(5'',6'':7,8)-flavone-3-O- β -D-glucopyranoside (1) and 3,3',4'-trihydroxy-(3'',4''-dihydro-3'',4''-dihydroxy)-2'',2''-dimethylpyrano-(5'',6'':7,8)-flavone (2), along with eight known flavonoids isolated for the first time from this plant, cynaroside (3), Apigetrin (4), centaureidin (5), oroxylin A (6), 5,7-dihydroxy-3',4',5'-trimethoxyflavone (7), atalantoflavone (8), 5-hydroxy-3',4',8-trimethoxy-2'',2''-dimethylpyrano (5'',6'':6,7)-flavone (9), and 3',4',5,8-tetramethoxy-2'',2''-dimethylpyrano (5'',6'':6,7)-flavone (10). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by means of spectroscopic tools including 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR, and mass spectroscopy. Cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated against human cervical carcinoma HeLa, human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2, and human breast carcinoma MCF-7. Compound 2 was the most potent cytotoxic agent against HeLa cells with an IC50 0.079  μM.