Diterpenoids and Flavonoid Glycosides from Euonymus hamiltonianus

Abstract

Euonymus hamiltonianus Wall. (Celastraceae) is a deciduous tree which is widely distributed in deep mountains of Korea, Japan and India. It has been traditionally used in Korea for the treatment of gynecological disease, coughing, pain, cancer and so on. Until the present, coumarins, triterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, and alkaloids have been reported from this plant. In this research, we isolated seven diterpenoids (1-7) and four flavonoid glycosides (8-11) from E. hamiltonianus roots and leaves. Among them, 6α-furancarbonyloxy-ferruginol (1) and 6-chloro-7-dehydroferruginol (2) were reported for the first time from nature. The isolated compounds were tested their cytotoxicity against HCT-116 human colorectal carcinoma cell lines. Compounds 1-7 corresponding to diterpenoids showed more significant cytotoxic effects than compounds 8-11 corresponding to flavonoid glycosides at concentration of 12.5 μM. Among them, compounds 2, 3, 4 and 5 with abietane type skeleton were evalutated to much higher cytotoxic effects than the others. Especially, Compound 4 showed potent cytotoxic activity.