title: Acyl flavonoids, biflavones, and flavonoids from Cephalotaxus harringtonia var. nana.
abstract: A methanol extract of the leaves of Cephalotaxus harringtonia var. nana and its ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble fraction demonstrated strong antitumor activity against A549 and HT-29 cell lines. The EtOAc-soluble fraction was purified by column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a reverse-phase column to yield three novel acyl flavonoids and a biflavonoid, along with 15 other known compounds that included flavonoids, biflavonoids, and other phenolics. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated using spectral data from HR-MS and NMR, including two-dimensional NMR studies, as (2R,3R)-3-O-eicosanoyltaxifolin (1), (2R,3R)-3-O-docosanoyltaxifolin (2), (2R,3R)-3-O-tetracosanoyltaxifolin (3), and 6-methyl-4',7,7″-tri-O-methylamentoflavone (4). The isolated compounds, including the known compounds, were tested for possible antitumor activity; some of the biflavones were found to be active. The potent antitumor activity of the extract was attributed to Cephalotaxus alkaloids, such as homoharringtonine (20).
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Research Institute, Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., 1624 Shimokotachi, Kodach, Akitakata, Hiroshima, 739-1195, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Komoto
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakane
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Shusuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Shirota
authors.forename: Setsuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sekita
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuroyanagi
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D006248:Harringtonines / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D015394:Molecular Structure; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D005419:Flavonoids; D006248:Harringtonines