Anneslea lanceolata (Hayata) Kanehira (Theaceae) is an endemic evergreen tree, distributed in broad-leaved
forests in southern Taiwan. In a series of studies on the cytotoxic constituents of
Formosan plants, 1,300 species were screened for in vitro cytotoxicity and A. lanceolata was one of the active species. Its root showed significant cytotoxic activity against
MCF-7, NCI-H460, and SF-268 cancer cell lines. There are only seven Anneslea species in the world and the chemical constituents of this genus have never been
analysed. The aim of this study is the isolation of cytotoxic constituents from the
root of this species. Investigation of the active ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of
the root led to the isolation of three new polyphenol glucosides including 1-O-(3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-6-O-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzoyl)-β-D-glucoside (1), and two dihydro-chalcone glucosides, annesleside A (2), and annesleside B (3), along with twelve known compounds, comprising of two dihydrochalcone glucosides,
davidioside (4), 4'-O-methyldavidioside (5), two dihydrochalcones, davidigenin (6), 4'-O-methyldavidigenin (7), one flavanone, 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavanone (8), one lignan, lynoiresinol (9), one coumarin, scopoletin (10), and five benzenoids, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (11), 4-methoxybenzoic acid (12), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid (13), 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid (14), methyl 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionate (15). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidences. The analysis
of the cytotoxic activity of the isolates are in progress.
Acknowledgements: National Science Council of the Republic of China.
