Constituents of Polyalthia jucunda and their cytotoxic effect on human cancer cell lines

Abstract 4-Hydroxy-4, 7-dimethyl-α.-tetralone (1), 4,5-dihydroblumenol A (2), N.-trans.-feruloyltyramine (3), and 24-methylenelanosta-7, 9(11)-dien-3-β., 15α.-diol (4) were isolated from the stem bark of Polyalthia jucunda. (Piere) Finet & Gagnep (Annonaceae). All the compounds were evaluated for their effects on growth of four human tumor cell lines [ER(+) MCF-7, ER(−) MDA-MB-23, SF 268, and NCI-H460] and of a non-tumor cell line (MRC-5). Only compound 4 exhibited a dose-dependent growth inhibitory effect against both tumor and non-tumor cell lines but with less effect on the latter. Using the TUNEL assay, it was found that the inhibitory effect of compound 4 on NCI-H460 cells was probably caused by apoptosis.