Undescribed dihydro- <i>β</i> -agarofuran sesquiterpenoids from the roots of <i>Tripterygium wilfordii</i>

Two undescribed dihydro-<i>β</i>-agarofuran sesquiterpene polyesters, named tripterysines H (<b>1</b>) and I (<b>2</b>), were obtained from <i>Tripterygium wilfordii</i> roots, alongside five reported analogues (<b>3-7</b>). The chemical structures of two undescribed compounds were unambiguously assigned by comprehensive analysis of their NMR data in combination with HRESIMS results, and the absolute configurations of them were established <i>via</i> electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. In addition, compounds <b>1</b> and <b>3</b> demonstrated potent cytotoxicity against SK-MEL-2 and HCC1806 cell lines (IC₅₀ 4.59-8.14 <i>μ</i>M), with potency comparable to the positive control.