New spirostanol steroids and steroidal saponins from roots and rhizomes of Dracaena angustifolia and their antiproliferative activity
- J Nat Prod. 2001 Sep;64(9):1127-32. doi: 10.1021/np0100385.
- 1. Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
The MeOH extract of Nam ginseng (roots and rhizomes of Dracaena angustifolia) afforded nine new compounds, including three spirostanol sapogenins, named namogenins A-C (1-3), four spirostanol saponins, named namonins A-D (4-7), a furostanol saponin, named namonin E (8), and a pregnan glycoside, named namonin F (9), along with another eight known steroidal saponins (10-17). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral analyses and chemical methods. All compounds were tested for their antiproliferative activity against murine colon 26-L5 carcinoma, human HT-1080 fibrosarcoma, and B-16 BL6 melanoma cells. Compounds 4, 5, and 10 showed potent antiproliferative activity against HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells, having IC(50) values of 0.2, 0.3, and 0.6 microM, respectively, comparable to that of doxorubicin.