Abstract
Bioassay-guided fractionation of hexane extracts of Gymnosperma glutinosum (Asteraceae) leaves, collected in North Mexico, afforded the known compounds hentriacontane (1) and (+)-13S,14R,15-trihydroxy-ent-labd-7-ene (2), as well as the new ent-labdane diterpene (−)-13S,14R,15-trihydroxy-7-oxo-ent-labd-8(9)-ene (3). In addition, D-glycero-D-galactoheptitol (4) was isolated from the methanolic extract of this plant. Their structures were established on the basis of high-field 1D- and 2D NMR methods supported by HR-MS data. The cytotoxic activity was determined by using the in vitro L5178Y-R lymphoma murine model. Hentriacontane (1) and the new ent-labdane 3 showed weak cytotoxicity, whereas the ent-labdane 2 showed significant (p < 0.05) and concentration dependent cytotoxicity (up to 78%) against L5178Y-R cells at concentrations ranging from 7.8 to 250 µg/mL.
Highlights
Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in industrialized countries [1]
The occurrence of the ent-labdane diterpene 2 (C20H36O3) in G. glutinosum has been reported in the literature [22], but no biological activity was described so far
The hexane extract, which was more active than the others at low concentrations, was divided into two portions of ca. 10 g and each of them chromatographed on a silica gel (190 g) column (160 × 3 cm) and eluted with stepwise gradients of n-hexane-chloroform
Summary
Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in industrialized countries [1]. The fate of many cancer patients, for whom cure of their disease is not a reality, is becoming ever more an issue. To promote the proper use of herbal medicines and to determine their potential use as source for new drugs, it is essential to study medicinal plants and scientifically validate their use [6,7,8,9]. This is the case for Gymnosperma glutinosum (Spreng.) Less, (Asteraceae) variously known in Mexico as Tatalencho, Jarilla, Mota, Hierba Pegajosa, Escobilla and Pegajosa [10], which is traditionally used to treat diarrhea, ulcers and rheumatism [11]. The structure of these compounds (Figure 1) was elucidated by analysis of the spectroscopic data and their cytotoxic activity was determined by using the in vitro L5178Y-R lymphoma murine model [27]
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