Bioactive substances inhibiting COX-2 and cancer cells isolated from the fibrous roots of (Lour.) Harms

Alangium chinense has been used as a traditional folk medicine for centuries to treat rheumatism, skin diseases, and diabetes by the people of Southeast Asia. However, the bioactive constituents inhibiting COX-2 and cancer cells (HepG2, Caco-2, HeLa) remain unclear. In this study one new ( 14 ) along with twenty-four known compounds ( 1-13 , 15-25 ) were isolated from the fibrous roots of Alangium chinense by chromatographic methods, and identified by NMR, and Gaussian and CD calculation. Compounds 1 , 2 , 13 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 20 , 23 , and 24 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Their inhibition effects on COX-2 enzyme and cancer cells were evaluated by MTT assay. Compounds 1-4 , 13-14 , and 16-18 can be used as good inhibitors against COX-2 enzyme, and compounds 1 , 13 , 14 , and 17 were stronger than the positive control (celecoxib). In addition, molecular docking suggested that compounds 13 , 17 , and 18 belong to ellagic acids and have good inhibition against COX-2 enzyme. While compounds 1 , 5 , 13 and 21 showed cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells, compounds 2 and 21 showed cytotoxicity against Caco-2 cells, and compound 20 showed cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. Alangium chinense has been used as a traditional folk medicine for centuries to treat rheumatism, skin diseases, and diabetes by the people of Southeast Asia.