Abstract
Medicinal plants play a crucial role in traditional medicine and in the maintenance of human health worldwide. Sesquiterpene lactones represent an interesting group of plant-derived compounds that are currently being tested as lead drugs in cancer clinical trials. Achillea falcata is a medicinal plant indigenous to the Middle Eastern region and belongs to the Asteraceae family, which is known to be rich in sesquiterpene lactones. We subjected Achillea falcata extracts to bioassay-guided fractionation against the growth of HCT-116 colorectal cancer cells and identified four secotanapartholides, namely 3-β-methoxy- isosecotanapartholide (1), isosecotanapartholide (2), tanaphallin (3), and 8-hydroxy-3-methoxyisosecotanapartholide (4). Three highly oxygenated guaianolides were isolated for the first time from Achillea falcata, namely rupin A (5), chrysartemin B (6), and 1β, 2β-epoxy- 3β,4α,10α-trihydroxyguaian- 6α,12-olide (7). These sesquiterpene lactones showed no or minor cytotoxicity while exhibiting promising anticancer effects against HCT-116 cells. Further structure-activity relationship studies related the bioactivity of the tested compounds to their skeleton, their lipophilicity, and to the type of functional groups neighboring the main alkylating center of the molecule.
Highlights
Medicinal plants have been used to treat all kinds of human diseases [1]
Four different sesquiterpene lactones were isolated from Achillea falcata, namely 3-β-methoxyisosecotanapartholide (1), isosecotanapartholide (2), tanaphillin (3), and 8-hydroxy-3-methoxyisosecotanapartholide (4)
Considering the increase in interest in the anticancer properties of sesquiterpene lactones [3], we investigated the presence of other bioactive ones in Achillea falcata
Summary
Medicinal plants have been used to treat all kinds of human diseases [1]. Secondary metabolites are low molecular weight compounds and encompass different types of molecules, namely sesquiterpene lactones [2,3]. The latter are categorized into the following major closed ring structures groups: germacranolides, eudesmanolides, eremophilanolides, guaianolides, pseudoguaianolides, and hypocretenolides [3]. Four different sesquiterpene lactones were isolated from Achillea falcata, namely 3-β-methoxyisosecotanapartholide (1), isosecotanapartholide (2), tanaphillin (3), and 8-hydroxy-3-methoxyisosecotanapartholide (4). These secotanapartholides differentially decrease the growth of the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line [4]. Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the World and in the Middle East [10,11,12] and HCT-116 is one of the most widely used and characterized in vitro model of colorectal cancer [13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
