Planta Med 2015; 81 - PX36
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1556480

Cytotoxic rotenoids and isoflavonoids from the fruits of Millettia caerulea

Y Ren 1, PA Benatrethina 1, U Muñoz Acuña 2, C Yuan 3, HB Chai 1, TN Ninh 4, EJ Carcache de Blanco 1, DD Soejarto 5, 6, AD Kinghorn 1
  • 1Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
  • 2Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, College of Pharmacy
  • 3Campus Chemical Instrument Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
  • 4Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 5Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
  • 6Science and Technology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, United States

Three new and seven known rotenoids, along with two new isoflavonoids and a known analogue, were isolated from the n-hexane extract of the fruits of Millettia caerulea (Graham) Baker (Fabaceae) collected in Vietnam (sample A06946; voucher specimen DDS-14879). The structures of the new compounds were established by analysis of their ECD, IR, UV, NMR, and mass spectra, with those of the known compounds being determined by comparison of their spectroscopic data with literature values. Several of these compounds were found to be cytotoxic toward the HT-29 human colon cancer cells, among which a known compound, 12β-hydroxyrotenone, was the most potently active, showing an IC50 value of 0.1µM. This same compound was active (IC50 3.1µM), when evaluated in a K-Ras inhibition assay using HT-29 cells.