Alkaloids from Zanthoxylum nitidum and Their Cytotoxic Activity

Abstract

Zanthoxylum nitidum (Roxb.) DC (Rutaceae) is a traditional medicine used for the treatment of various diseases like toothache, gingivitis, fever, colic vomiting, diarrhea, and cholera. Three new alkaloids, zanthocadinanine C (1), 7-methoxy-8-de-methoxynitidine (2), and zanthonitiside I (3) were isolated from the stems and twigs of Z. nitidum. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic, including 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy data. Compounds 1-3 were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against 5 human cancer cell lines, KB, MCF-7, LNCaP, HepG-2, and LU-1. Compound 2 showed significant cytotoxic activity against all tested human cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 10.3 to 12.6 µM.