Cytotoxic constituents from Helicteres hirsuta collected in Vietnam

Phytochemical study on the extract of Vietnamese medicinal plant Helicteres hirsuta Lour. has led to the isolation and structural elucidation of twelve secondary metabolites, 3-O-trans-caffeoylbetulinic acid (1), 3β-benzoylbetulinic acid (2), betulinic acid methyl ester (3), betulinic acid (4), lupeol (5), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (6), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid methyl ester (7), 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid (8), 5,8-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone (9), isoscutellarein 4'-methyl ether 8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10), methyl caffeate (11) and stigmasterol (12). Especially, compound 2 was reported as a new natural product. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of 2D NMR and ESI-FT-ICR-MS spectroscopies. Furthermore, eight compounds were tested for their cytotoxicity against five cancer cell lines (Hela, HepG2, SK-LU-1, AGS and SK-MEL-2). The results showed that compounds (1, 3-5, 9) have moderate activities. This is the first study on the chemical constituents and their cytotoxicity of the Vietnamese Helicteres hirsuta L.