Cytotoxic activity of five limonoids from Meliae cortex and their structure-activity relationship

AIM: To investigate the cytotoxic activity of five limonoids (1-5) and illuminate their structure-activity relationship (SAR). METHODS: Compounds 1-5 isolated from Meliae cortex were examined for their cytotoxic activity against three cancer cell lines in vitro by MTT method. RESULTS: Among the tested compounds, all compounds possessed their potent antitumor activity. Especially compound 1 was the most active compound against human liver cancer BEL7402 cells (IC50 8.57 gmL-1), human lung cancer H460 cells (IC50 6.29 gmL-1), human stomach cancer SGC-7901 cells (IC50 6.08 gmL-1). CONCLUSION: The SAR of compounds 1-5 indicated that 16-OH was very important for keeping the cytotoxic activity of limonoids.