Cytotoxic Phenanthroindolizidine Alkaloids from the Roots of Ficus septica

Abstract

Activity-monitored fractionation of the CHCl₃ solubles of the MeOH extract of the roots of Ficus septica using cytotoxicity assay led to the isolation of twenty phenanthroindolizidine alkaloids, including ten new ficuseptines E–N (1–10) and ten known compounds. The cytotoxic effects of some of the isolates were tested on gastric adenocarcinoma (NUGC) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (HONE-1) cell lines and the results demonstrated that, with the exception of dehydrotylophorine, all the tested compounds displayed pronounced cytotoxic activity with significant cell growth inhibitory effects. In addition, 13aR-antofine was found to be highly effective with ED₅₀ values of < 0.1 µg/mL against L-1210, P-388, A-549 and HCT-8 cell lines in another assay.

Key words

Ficus septica - Moraceae - phenanthroindolizidines - cytotoxicity - ficuseptine

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