Targeted triterpenoids from Dysoxylum alliaceum stem barks as cytotoxic agents in human cancer and normal cells

The Dysoxylum genus that belongs to the Meliaceae family is widely distributed from India and Srilanka throughout Malaysia and Indonesia to Australia and New Zealand. Numerous types of compounds have been reported, including sesquiterpenoids, limonoids, triterpenoids, and alkaloids. One of the members of this genus is Dysoxylum alliaceum . Reports on the phytochemical constituents of this species are limited. During our search for naturally occurring tropical plant compounds with intriguing structures and biological properties, the stembark of D. alliaceum , which showed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7, A549, and CV-1 cell lines, was investigated. This paper describes the chemical structure of the isolated compounds using HR-ESI-MS, FTIR, and NMR. As a result, eight triterpenoid compounds belonging to tirucallane-type ( 1 – 8 ) were identified, including cneorin-NP 36 ( 1 ) toonapubesin A ( 2 ), toonapubesin B ( 3 ), chisopanin M ( 4 ), 21- α methylmelianodiol ( 5 ), 21- β methylmelianodiol ( 6 ), hispidone ( 7 ), and odoratone ( 8 ). Furthermore, toonapubesin A ( 2 ) showed the highest selectivity against A549 cancer cell lines with IC 50 value 7.81 ± 0.02 µ M, resulting in no activity towards CV-1 cells.