Novel cucurbitane triterpenes from the tubers of hemsleya amabilis with their cytotoxic acitivity

Abstract

Chemical research of the medicinal plant Hemsleya amabilis (Cucurbitaceae) yielded five new cucurbitane-type triterpenes hemslelis A–E (1–5) by silica gel column, ODS column, and semi-HPLC techniques. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis and examined alongside existing data from prior studies. Compounds 1–5 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against three human tumor cell lines, Hela, HCT-8, and HepG-2, with the IC50 ranging from 5.9 to 33.9 µM compared to Cisplatin.