title: Purification of Cucurbitacins D, E, and I from Ecballium Elaterium (L.) A. Rich Fruits and Study of Their Cytotoxic Effects on the AGS Cell Line
abstract: Background: The plant Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family which occupies
  an important position in traditional medicine prescriptions. It has been reported that a freeze-dried aqueous extract
  of E. elaterium fruits has cytotoxic effects on the AGS human stomach adenocarcinoma cell line. We here focused
  on anticancer effects of the main chemicals purified from E. elaterium fruits. Materials and Methods: We isolated
  cucurbitacins D, E, and I from chloroform, and ethyl acetate fractions of a methanolic extract of E. elaterium fruits
  and assessed their cytotoxic effects on the AGS cell line by MTT assay. The methanolic extract was fractionated to
  petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethyl acetate fractions. The compounds isolated by column chromatography were
  identified by NMR spectroscopy. Results: After 24 h of incubation with AGS cells, the IC50 values were 0.3, 0.1, and
  0.5 μg/ml for cucurbitacins D, E, and I respectively. Conclusions: This finding suggests that because of its cucurbitacins,
  E. elaterium fruit may have some cytotoxic effects on gastric cancer cells. Also, compared with D and I, cucurbitacin
  E showed greater potency in this regard.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran,Tehran, Iran. Email: Zargar@khayam.ut.ac.ir
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jafargholizadeh
authors.forename: Seyed Jalal
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Zargar
authors.forename: Narguess
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yassa
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tavakoli
keywords: Ecballium elaterium; chromatography; cucurbitacins; gastric cancer; MTT assay