Abstract:
In this study, three new germacranolide sesquiterpenes (
1 –
3 ), together with six related known analogues (
4 –
9 ) were isolated from the whole plant of
Carpesium cernuum. Their structures were established by a combination of extensive NMR spectroscopic analysis, HR-ESIMS data, and ECD calculations. The anti-leukemia activities of all compounds towards three cell lines (HEL, KG-1a, and K562) were evaluated in
vitro. Compounds
1 –
3 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity with IC
50 values ranging from 1.59 to 5.47 μmol·L
−1. Mechanistic studies indicated that
2 induced apoptosis by decreasing anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and activating the caspase family in K562 cells. These results suggest that compound
2 is a potential anti-leukemia agent.