CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS FROM THE STEMS OF CLEISTANTHUS EBERHARDTII

From the stems of Cleistanthus eberhardtii (Gagnep.) Croizat, nine known compounds were isolated, including two triterpenoids (lupeol (1) and betulinic acid (2)), one ellagic acid derivative (3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid-4′-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (3)), one steroid (β-sitostenone (4)), and five benzoic acid derivatives (2,3-dihydroxy-1-(4′-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propane-1-one (5), 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (6), 3,4-dihydrobenzoic acid (7), methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (8), and methyl gallate (9). The structures of these compounds were determined through MS and NMR spectra analyses and comparison with literature data. Compounds 1-3 showed moderate cytotoxic activity against KB and MCF-7 cancer cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 18.3 to 29.2 mg/mL. To date, this is the first report of these compounds from C. eberhardtii, and the first phytochemical investigation of C. eberhardtii stems.