Isolation, Characterization, and Quantification of a New Anticancer Constituent from Leaves of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

A new compound, 1,1,2-tris(2′,4′-di-tert-butylphenyl)-4,4-dimethylpent-1-ene, was isolated and characterized from the leaves of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. The plant was subjected to bioactivity-guided fractionation, and a compound was isolated from chloroform extract that was found to have potent anticancer activity. The chloroform extract was further fractionated, and a pure compound was isolated that was found to be active against three cancer cell lines (HL-60, HCT-116, and A-549). An RP-HPLC method was developed for quantification of the isolated compound. The content of the isolated compound was 0.88% in the chloroform extract and 0.08% in N. arbor-tristis leaves.