New Cytotoxic Cucurbitacins from the Pericarps ofTrichosanthes TricuspidataFruits

Abstract

An extract of the fruits of Trichosanthes tricuspidata collected in North Vietnam was found cytotoxic in KB cells. A bioassay-guided fractionation led to the isolation of a series of cucurbitacins of which two are new: tricuspidatin and 2-O-glucocucurbitacin J. Their isolation and structure determination are described.

1H and13C NMR signal assignment of cucurbitacin derivatives fromCitrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrader andEcballium elaterium L. (Cucurbitaceae)

“…9 The stereoisomeric 2-O-ˇ-Dglucopyranosylcucurbitacins K (1) and J (2) are new constituents for C. colocynthis. Chemical shifts and coupling constants of H 2 -23 and H-24 showed distinct differences, allowing an unequivocal assignment by comparison with literature data measured in C 5 D 5 N. 8 These derivatives have hardly been described yet, 8,10 and the stereochemistry of the side-chain hydroxylation at C-24 remains unsolved. (CD 3 OD).…”

Chemical constituents of the genus Trichosanthes (Cucurbitaceae) and their biological activities: A review

“…Thirty cucurbitacin triterpenoids were isolated from T. cucumerina, T. kirilowii and T. tricuspidata (Fig. 3) and have been reported for different biological activities [18,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. A number of publications revealed that cucurbitacins are the constituents of Trichosanthes species.…”

“…However, cucurbitacins are not usually utilized as medicinal agents because of their toxicity. Compound 31 has been reported to display significant cytotoxicity against KB cell line [28]. The chemical modification of various functional groups of cucurbitacins to reduce toxic effects may provide important lead compounds for future research.…”

Distribution and Ancient-Recent Medicinal Uses of Trichosanthes Species

“…4. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of aqueous extract of Trichosanthes bracteata fruits in animal model was study 35 . 5.…”