Discovery of bletillain, an unusual benzyl polymer with significant autophagy-inducing effects in A549 lung cancer cells through the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway

[Display omitted] •Eighteen bibenzyls with cytotoxicity against A549 cells were isolated from Bletilla striata.•The structure-cytotoxicity relationship of the isolated compounds was investigated.•Bletillain is an unusual benzyl polymer with the best cytotoxicity in A549 cells.•Bletillain induced autophagy in A549 cells by regulating the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway.•Beclin 1, LC3, and p62 are downstream autophagy factors of Akt. Lung cancer is one of the most malignant tumors with the highest mortality and morbidity. The tubers of Bletilla striata are known as “an excellent medicine for lung diseases” in traditional Chinese medicine. This study performed a targeted study to explore compounds with anti-lung cancer activity and the molecular mechanisms using A549 cells. Eighteen bibenzyl derivatives, including four new compounds (13, 14, 16, and 18), were isolated from the tubers of B. striata. Analysis of the structure–activity relationship indicated that the cytotoxicity of the bibenzyls against A549 cells increased gradually as the number of the benzyl groups in the structures increased. Bletillain (18), an unusual benzyl polymer, was found to be the most active compound. Further flow cytometric analysis, dual-luciferase assays, real-time PCR assays, and western blot assays revealed that bletillain induced autophagy in A549 cells by regulating the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway. Beclin 1, LC3, and p62 are downstream autophagy factors of Akt, and Beclin 1 was the key autophagy factor. These results suggested that bibenzyls of B. striata play important roles in the treatment of lung cancer and provided scientific evidence illustrating why the tubers of B. striata are a suitable medicine for the treatment of lung cancer in traditional Chinese medicine.