Epoxide Sesquiterpenes and Steroids from Cremanthodium discoideum

Two new epoxide bisabolane sesquiterpenes and a new steroid were isolated from the whole plants of Cremanthodium discoideum Maxim. Their structures have been established by spectroscopic methods including two-dimensional n.m.r. (1H–1H COSY, 1H–1H NOESY, HMBC, HMQC) techniques. Six known steroids were also isolated and characterized. Compound (1) has antibacterial activity against Bacillus aeruginosus and B. subtilis. Two sesquiterpenes showed significant activity against two tumour cell lines: human promyelocytic leukemia cell HL-60 and human hapatoma cell SMMC-7721.