A cytotoxic 4 α-methyl steroid from the aerial parts of Cimicifuga foetida L

Abstract

A new 4 α-methyl sterol, cimisterol A ( 1), together with five known compounds ( 2– 6), were isolated from the aerial parts of Cimicifuga foetida L. The new compound's structure was determined with the help of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Compound 1 exhibited broad-spectrum and potent cytotoxic activities against human HL-60, Jurkat, K562, U937, HepG-2, and SGC-7091 cell lines, with IC 50 values of 7.23, 2.89, 6.88, 3.38, 4.21, and 4.89 μM, respectively. Compound 3 showed moderate to weak activities to all cell lines, except for SGC-7091, having IC 50 values ranging from 13.37 to 17.72 μM. This is the first time a cytotoxic 4 α-methyl sterol constituent was discovered from Cimicifuga spp.