Novel drimane-type sesquiterpenoids and nucleosides from the Helicoma septoconstrictum suppress the growth of ovarian cancer cells

Abstract

Four new drimane-type sesquiterpenoids and two new nucleoside derivatives (1–6), were isolated from the fungus Helicoma septoconstrictum. Their structures were determined based on the combination of the analysis of their HR-ESI-MS, NMR, ECD calculations data and acid hydrolysis. All the isolated compounds were detected for their bio-activities against MDA-MB-231, A549/DDP, A2780 and HepG2 cell lines. Helicoside C (4) exhibited superior cytotoxicity against the A2780 cell line with IC50 7.5 ± 1.5 µM. The analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) revealed that Helicoside C induced an increase in intracellular ROS. Furthermore, the flow cytometry and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) analyses unveiled that Helicoside C mediated mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in A2780 cells. The western blotting test showed that Helicoside C could suppress the STAT3′s phosphorylation. These findings offered crucial support for development of H. septoconstrictum and highlighted the potential application of drimane-type sesquiterpenoids in pharmaceuticals.