| Abstract: | Anneslea lanceolata (Hayata) Kanehira (Theaceae) is an endemic evergreen tree, distributed in broad-leaved forests in southern Taiwan. In a series of studies on the cytotoxic constituents of Formosan plants, 1,300 species were screened for in vitro cytotoxicity and A. lanceolata was one of the active species. Its root showed significant cytotoxic activity against MCF-7, NCI-H460, and SF-268 cancer cell lines. There are only seven Anneslea species in the world and the chemical constituents of this genus have never been analysed. The aim of this study is the isolation of cytotoxic constituents from the root of this species. Investigation of the active ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of the root led to the isolation of three new polyphenol glucosides including 1-O-(3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-6-O-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzoyl)-β-D-glucoside (1), and two dihydro-chalcone glucosides, annesleside A (2), and annesleside B (3), along with twelve known compounds, comprising of two dihydrochalcone glucosides, davidioside (4), 4'-O-methyldavidioside (5), two dihydrochalcones, davidigenin (6), 4'-O-methyldavidigenin (7), one flavanone, 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavanone (8), one lignan, lynoiresinol (9), one coumarin, scopoletin (10), and five benzenoids, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (11), 4-methoxybenzoic acid (12), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid (13), 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid (14), methyl 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionate (15). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidences. The analysis of the cytotoxic activity of the isolates are in progress. |
