Limonoids from the bark of Toona ciliata var pubescens and their anti-tumor activities

Two previously undescribed B-ring seco-limonoids named toonacilinatin I (1) and toonacilinatin J (2), together with ten known analogues (3–12), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the bark of Toona ciliata var pubescens. All structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis involving IR, MS, and NMR. Among them, compounds 1–10, and 12 were discovered from this plant for the first time. All the compounds except 7 and 8 were evaluated for their anti-tumor activity by MTT method of MDA-MB-231 and A-673 cell lines, the bioassay results showed that compounds 1, 2, 5, 9 and 11 exerted superior inhibitory activity with IC50 values as 0.11–1.60 μM. Notably, those active compounds exhibited little effect on normal hepatocellular HL-7702 cells.