Cytotoxic sesquterpenoid compound from the stembark of Aglaia simplicifolia (Meliaceae)

Previous phytochemical studies from the Aglaia genus reported the presence of terpenoid compound. This research describes the isolation and structure elucidation of sesquiterpend compound from the stembark of Aglaia simplicifolia. Dried stembark of A. simplicifolia extracted with methanol and then partitioned with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, respectively. The n-hexane extract then was separated and purified with chromatography techniques to obtain isolated compound. The chemical structure of isolated compound was elucidated by IR, NMR 1D, NMR 2D as well as mass spectra and by comparison with those previously reported spectra data. The compound identified as senecrassidiol. This compound showed cytotoxicity activity against HeLa cervical cancer cells with IC50 values of 2.18 µM.