Terpenes and lignans from the roots of Solanum melongena L.

Abstract

Phytochemical investigation of the roots of Solanum melongena L. resulted in the isolation of ten terpenes and sixteen lignans, including a new triterpene saponin, officinoterpenoside E (1) and twenty-five known compounds (2-26). All compounds were firstly isolated from S. melongena except 2, 13, 21, 22. The structures of these compounds were determined by 1 D and 2 D NMR spectra referring to the literatures, together with high-resolution mass spectrometric analysis. All compounds were evaluated for the cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines (HepG2, Hela, and MCF-7) in vitro. The results showed that compounds 1, 6, 20, 25 and 26 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against HepG2, Hela and MCF-7 cells with IC50 values in the range of 16.8 ± 1.7 to 29.1 ± 1.9 μM. Therefore, these terpenoids and lignans may have potential biological activity, and also seemed to be of great chemotaxonomic value for S. melongena.