Triterpenes from Pholiota populnea as Cytotoxic Agents and Chemosensitizers to Overcome Multidrug Resistance of Cancer Cells

The detailed mycochemical analysis of the n-hexane extract of Pholiota populnea led to the isolation of four new lanostane diesters, named pholiols A–D (1–4), together with an acyclic triterpene, (3S,6E,10E,14E,18E,22S)-2,3,22,23-tetrahydroxy-2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl-6,10,14,18-tetracosatetraene (5), ergosterol (6), and 3β-hydroxyergosta-7,22-diene (7). The isolation was carried out by multistep flash chromatography, and the structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR and MS measurements. The isolated metabolites (1–6) were investigated for cytotoxic activity against Colo205 and Colo320 colon adenocarcinoma and nontumoral MRC-5 cell lines. Among the tested compounds, ergosterol (6) showed substantial cytotoxic activity against all cell lines with IC50 values of 4.9 μM (Colo 205), 6.5 μM (Colo 320), and 0.50 μM (MRC) with no tumor cell selectivity. A P-glycoprotein efflux pump modulatory test on resistant Colo320 cells revealed that pholiols A (1) and B (2) and linear triterpene polyol 5 have the capacity to inhibit the efflux-pump overexpressed in the cells. Moreover, the drug interactions of triterpenes with doxorubicin were studied by the checkerboard method on Colo 320 cells. Pholiols B (2) and D (4) interacted in synergistic and acyclic triterpene 5 in a very strong synergistic manner; the combination index (CI) values at 50% of the growth inhibition dose (ED50) were found to be 0.348, 0.660, and 0.082, respectively. Our results indicate that P. populnea is a promising source for finding new triterpenes with significant chemosensitizing activity on cancer cells.