Cytotoxic Lignan and Flavonoid Derivatives from the Branches of .

An investigation of a cytotoxic MeOH extract of the branches of , collected in Vietnam, led to the isolation of four new compounds (-). Two of these, isolated from a CHCl-soluble partition, were characterized as the furofuran-type neolignans, beilschmiedianins A ()[(7,7,8,8',8″)-4',4″,9''-trihydroxy-3,5,3',3''-tetramethoxy-4,8''-oxy-7,9':7'9-diepoxy-8,8'-sesquilignan-7''-one)] and B () [(7,7',7″,8,8',8″)-9″-feruloyl-4',4''-dihydroxy-3,5,3',3''-tetramethoxy-4,8″-oxy-7,9':7',9-diepoxy-8,8'-dilignan-7″-ol]. In turn, the flavonoid glycosides and were obtained from an EtOAc-soluble partition and were assigned as (2,3)-dihydrokaempferol-5--β-l-arabinosyl-(2→1)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside and (2,3)-dihydrokaempferol-5--β-l-arabinopyranoside, respectively. The structures of these new compounds were determined using a combination of spectroscopic and spectrometric methods. Additionally, the known dilignan, (-)-9,9'--diferuloylsecoisolariciresinol (), showed selective cytotoxicity against the OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cell line, with an IC value of 0.51 μM. Mechanistic studies showed that compound increased the cPARP levels and decreased the expression of BCL-2 in OVCAR3 cells.