A New Compound Extracted from the Roots of Eupatorium chinense and its Anti-cancer Activity Against Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Background The extract of Eubatorium chinense possesses yarious bioactive compounds, The CHCl,-soluble extract of the roots of E. chinense has been reported to exhibit significant cytotoxic activity on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line 2 (CNE2) cells. Purpose To identify novel compounds from the roots of E. chinense as candidates for further development as nasopharyngealcarcinoma (NP) therapeutics. Materials and Methods The desiccated root tubers of E. chinense were extracted and isolated. The structure of the novel compound was comprehensively elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including 1D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) ( 1 H and 13 C NMR), 2D NMR techniques (heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) and heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (HMBC)), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS), and infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy. The β-configuration at C-3 was assigned based on the characteristic coupling constant (JH-2β/H-3α = 11.4 Hz) and comparison with literature NMR data. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was performed to detect the cytotoxicity of extracted compounds against CNE2 cells, 5-8F cells, oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line 4 (SCC-4) cells, and H1299 cells. Results A new triterpenoid (compound 1), alongside six established compounds (compounds 2–7), was obtained from the CHCl3-soluble fraction of E. chinense roots. Spectroscopic and physicochemical characterization determined the novel compound’s structure. MTT assay showed that compound 1 demonstrated significant cytotoxicity against CNE2 and 5-8F cell lines, exhibiting half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values of 6.07 ± 0.9 µM and 3.62 ± 0.7 µM, respectively. Conclusion The novel triterpenoid (compound 1) isolated from the root tubers of E. chinense exhibits significant in vitro cytotoxicity against NPC cell lines (CNE2 and 5-8F). While this highlights its potential as a promising candidate for further investigation, its translational potential for NPC therapy requires rigorous in vivo validation and in-depth mechanistic studies.