Acetate platinum(II) compound with 5,7-ditertbutyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine that overcomes cisplatin resistance: structural characterization,in vitro cytotoxicity,and kinetic studies

The reaction of silver acetate with cis-[PtI₂(dbtp)₂], where dbtp = 5,7-ditertbutyl-1,2,4-triazolo-[1,5-a]pyrimidine, yielded cis-[Pt(OOCCH₃)₂(dbtp)₂]·dmf (1). The complex has been analyzed by multinuclear magnetic resonance (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N), IR, and Raman. The compound formed two rotamers in CDCl₃ and its spatial structures have been optimized using computational calculation. It was found that head-to-tail rotamer (1a) is more stable than its head-to-head counterpart (1b). In vitro antiproliferative activity against four tumor cell lines (A549, T47D, FaDu, and A2780cis) revealed in all cases significant cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 0.26–1.80 μM), possessing IC₅₀ values at least fivefold lower than cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin (except A2780cis). The remarkable in vitro activity against T47D and A2780cis suggested the ability to overcome cisplatin resistance in these types of tumor cells. In addition, in vitro toxicity was evaluated against BALB/3T3 and has shown that the lipophilic platinum(II) complex (1) inhibits cell proliferation weaker than cisplatin and oxaliplatin. Additionally, cis-[Pt(OOCCH₃)₂(dbtp)₂]·dmf exhibited selective activity, in contrast to cisplatin or oxaliplatin.     

Tricarbonylrhenium(I) complexes with the N,6-dimethylpyridine-2-carbothioamide ligand: combined experimental and calculation studies

Abstract

A new series of tricarbonyl complexes of rhenium(I) in the “2 + 1” system with the bidentate ligand N,6-dimethylpyridine-2-carbothioamide ((CH₃)NC₅H₄-CS-NH-CH₃, MeLH(Me)_NS) and a monodentate ligand (halides Cl, Br, or I, and the pseudohalide NCS anion) was synthesized. The use of mixed ligands led to the formation of neutral tricarbonylrhenium(I) complexes [Re(CO)₃(MeLH(Me)_NS)X] (X = Cl, Br, I, NCS) (1–4). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction was used to determine the crystal structures of all four compounds and those results were compared with molecular structures obtained from DFT calculations using the PBE0/def2-TZVPD approach. The complexes were also characterized by spectroscopic (FT-IR, NMR, and UV–vis) and analytical (HPLC, TGA, EA, ESI-MS) techniques. IR and UV–vis spectra were also calculated by DFT and TD-DFT methods. The cytotoxicity of these complexes was estimated using human ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780 and A2780cis), cervical cancer cells (HeLa), and non-cancerous human embryonic kidney cells (Hek-293). The toxicity of most complexes was moderate or low toward cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ = 46–231 μM) and similar against non-cancerous cells (IC₅₀ = 41-121 μM). Only the complex with chlorido ligand remarkably inhibited growth of ovarian cancer cells (IC₅₀ = 3 and 12 μM for A2780 and A2780cis, respectively). The cytotoxicity of 1 was higher than that of cisplatin.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of analogs of altohyrtin C (spongistatin 2)

Several structural analogs that contain only part of the altohyrtin structure have been prepared and compared with synthetic altohyrtin C (2) for in vitro cytotoxicity against human colon (HCT116) and ovarian (A2780) cell lines. Whereas altohyrtin C was found to be exceedingly potent against these lines (IC₅₀=0.0003 μM), analogs 3-5 were >27,000-fold less potent (IC₅₀>8 μM). Analogs 6 and 7 also demonstrated weak cytotoxicity with IC₅₀ values for the HCT116 and A2780 cells of 4.8 μM and 2.4 μM, respectively, for 6.     

A cell-microelectronic sensing technique for profiling cytotoxicity of chemicals

A cell-microelectronic sensing technique is developed for profiling chemical cytotoxicity and is used to study different cytotoxic effects of the same class chemicals using nitrosamines as examples. This technique uses three human cell lines (T24 bladder, HepG2 liver, and A549 lung carcinoma cells) and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells in parallel as the living components of the sensors of a real-time cell electronic sensing (RT-CES) method for dynamic monitoring of chemical toxicity. The RT-CES technique measures changes in the impedance of individual microelectronic wells that is correlated linearly with changes in cell numbers during t log phase of cell growth, thus allowing determination of cytotoxicity. Four nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiphenylamine (NDPhA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPip), and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPyr), were examined and unique cytotoxicity profiles were detected for each nitrosamine. In vitro cytotoxicity values (IC₅₀) for NDPhA (ranging from 0.6 to 1.9 mM) were significantly lower than the IC₅₀ values for the well-known carcinogen NDMA (15-95 mM) in all four cell lines. T24 cells were the most sensitive to nitrosamine exposure among the four cell lines tested (T24 > CHO > A549 > HepG2), suggesting that T24 may serve as a new sensitive model for cytotoxicity screening. Cell staining results confirmed that administration of the IC₅₀ concentration from the RT-CES experiments inhibited cell growth by 50% compared to the controls, indicating that the RT-CES method provides reliable measures of IC₅₀. Staining and cell-cycle analysis confirmed that NDPhA caused cell-cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, whereas NDMA did not disrupt the cell cycle but induced cell death, thus explaining the different cytotoxicity profiles detected by the RT-CES method. The parallel cytotoxicity profiling of nitrosamines on the four cell lines by the RT-CES method led to the discovery of the unique cytotoxicity of NDPhA causing cell-cycle arrest. This study demonstrates a new approach to comprehensive testing of chemical toxicity.     

Synthesis,cytotoxicity, and interaction with DNA of platinum(II) complexes of (1R,2R)-N1-2-amyl-1,2-diaminocyclohexane

(1R,2R)-N¹-2-amyl-1,2-diaminocyclohexane, which has an amyl substituent as compared with 1,2-diaminocyclohexane, was used as the carrier group to construct three platinum(II) complexes. MTT assay revealed that the complexes showed decent cytotoxicity against all of the four tested tumor cell lines with the IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.08 to 253.36 μM. Particularly, the IC₅₀ values of 2 against A549 and HCT-116 reached 3.32 and 1.08 μM, respectively, which were much lower than those of cisplatin and oxaliplatin. Flow cytometry demonstrated that 2 inhibited HepG2 cells proliferation and caused cytotoxicity by inducing apoptosis and arresting cells in the G2 phase. Furthermore, agarose gel electrophoresis showed that 2 had the ability to interact with DNA in a manner different from cisplatin and oxaliplatin, indicating the carrier ligand with an alkyl moiety had an influence on the action mode of the complex.     

Ethiopian Medicinal Plants Traditionally Used for the Treatment of Cancer; Part 3: Selective Cytotoxic Activity of 22 Plants against Human Cancer Cell Lines

Medicinal plants have been traditionally used to treat cancer in Ethiopia. However, very few studies have reported the in vitro anticancer activities of medicinal plants that are collected from different agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia. Hence, the main aim of this study was to screen the cytotoxic activities of 80% methanol extracts of 22 plants against human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as well as human breast (MCF-7), lung (A427), bladder (RT-4), and cervical (SiSo) cancer cell lines. Active extracts were further screened against human large cell lung carcinoma (LCLC-103H), pancreatic cancer (DAN-G), ovarian cancer (A2780), and squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (KYSE-70) by using the crystal violet cell proliferation assay, while the vitality of the acute myeloid leukemia (HL-60) and histiocytic lymphoma (U-937) cell lines was monitored in the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) microtiter assay. Euphorbia schimperiana, Acokanthera schimperi, Kniphofia foliosa, and Kalanchoe petitiana exhibited potent antiproliferative activity against A427, RT-4, MCF-7, and SiSo cell lines, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.85 ± 0.44 to 17.8 ± 2.31 µg/mL. Furthermore, these four extracts also showed potent antiproliferative activities against LCLC-103H, DAN-G, A2780, KYSE-70, HL-60, and U-937 cell lines, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.086 to 27.06 ± 10.8 µg/mL. Hence, further studies focusing on bio-assay-guided isolation and structural elucidation of active cytotoxic compounds from these plants are warranted.     

Two New Prenylated Xanthones from the Pericarp of Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen)

Two new prenylated xanthones (=9H‐xanthen‐9‐ones), garcimangosxanthones D ( 1 ) and E ( 2 ), together with the six known xanthones 3 – 8 , were isolated from the pericarp of Garcinia mangostana. Their structures were determined by analysis of their spectroscopic data. All of the isolated compounds were biologically evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against A549, Hep‐G2, and MCF‐7 human‐cancer cell lines and antioxidant activity. Compound 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against Hep‐G2 (IC₅₀=19.2 μM ) and weak cytotoxicity against MCF‐7 (IC₅₀=62.8 μM ) cell lines, and compound 2 showed moderate cytotoxicity against A549, Hep‐G2, and MCF‐7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 12.5–20.0 μM (Table 2). Both compounds 1 and 2 demonstrated a weak antioxidant activity with ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values of 41±7 and 130±4 μmol/g, respectively (Table 3).     

Malformin-A1 (MA1) Sensitizes Chemoresistant Ovarian Cancer Cells to Cisplatin-Induced Apoptosis

High-grade epithelial ovarian cancer is a fatal disease in women frequently associated with drug resistance and poor outcomes. We previously demonstrated that a marine-derived compound MalforminA1 (MA1) was cytotoxic for the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of MA1 on human ovarian cancer cells. The potential cytotoxicity of MA1was tested on cisplatin-sensitive (A2780S) and cisplatin-resistant (A2780CP) ovarian cancer cell lines using AlamarBlue assay, Hoechst dye, flow cytometry, Western blot, and RT-qPCR. MA1 had higher cytotoxic activity on A2780S (IC50 = 0.23 µM) and A2780CP (IC50 = 0.34 µM) cell lines when compared to cisplatin (IC50 = 31.4 µM and 76.9 µM, respectively). Flow cytometry analysis confirmed the cytotoxic effect of MA1. The synergistic effect of the two drugs was obvious, since only 13% of A2780S and 7% of A2780CP cells remained alive after 24 h of treatment with both MA1 and cisplatin. Moreover, we examined the expression of bcl2, p53, caspase3/9 genes at RNA and protein levels using RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively, to figure out the cell death mechanism induced by MA1. A significant down-regulation in bcl2 and p53 genes was observed in treated cells compared to non-treated cells (p < 0.05), suggesting that MA1 may not follow the canonical pathway to induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cell lines. MalforminA1 showed promising anticancer activity by inducing cytotoxicity in cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant cancer cell lines. Interestingly, a synergistic effect was observed when MA1 was combined with cisplatin, leading to it overcoming its resistance to cisplatin.     

Dyads of G-Quadruplex Ligands Triggering DNA Damage Response and Tumour Cell Growth Inhibition at Subnanomolar Concentration

Naphthalene diimide (NDI) dyads exhibiting a different substitution pattern and linker length have been synthesised and evaluated as G-quadruplex (G4) ligands, by investigating their cytotoxicity in selected cell lines. The dyads with the long C₇ linker exhibit extremely low IC₅₀ values, below 10 nm , on different cancer cell lines. Contrary, the dyads with the shorter C₄ linker were much less effective, with IC values increasing up to 1 μm . Among the three dyads with the longest linker, small differences in the IC₅₀ values emerge, suggesting that the linker length plays a more important role than the substitution pattern. We have further shown that the dyads are able to induce cellular DNA damage response, which is not limited to the telomeric regions and is likely the origin of their cytotoxicity. Both absorption titration and dynamic light scattering of the most cytotoxic dyads in the presence of hTel22 highlight their ability to induce effective G4 aggregation, acting as non-covalent cross-linking agents.     

Ruthenium(II) arene complexes with oligocationic triarylphosphine ligands: Synthesis, DNA interactions and in vitro properties

The synthesis, DNA binding properties and cytotoxicity of a series of Ru(II)-arene complexes containing oligocationic ammonium-functionalized triarylphosphines, of the type Ru(p-cymene)Cl₂(L) (L = oligocationic phosphine), are reported. The complexes are highly charged (the overall charge states being +3 and +6) and circular dichroism spectroscopy and gel electrophoresis studies indicate that the compounds interact strongly with DNA via electrostatic interactions. Despite forming strong interactions with DNA, the complexes exhibit only modest cytotoxicities on the human ovarian cancer cell lines A2780 and A2780cisR.     

Synthesis,spectral characterization,and biological studies of 3,5-disubstituted-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2(3H)-thione derivatives

The reaction of 3,4-dichlorophenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2( 3H )-thione with piperidine derivatives via Mannich reaction was used to generate eleven novel compounds in moderate to good yields. Synthesized molecules were characterized according to their structure with ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and FT-IR spectral foundations, which were compatible with literature informations. Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity studies were done by disc diffusion and NCI-60 sulphordamine B assay methods. The antimicrobial test results revealed that synthesized compounds have better activity against gram-positive species than gram-negative ones. A total analysis of the antibacterial, antifungal, and antiyeast activity revealed that newly synthesized compounds were really active against Bacillus cereus , Bacillus ehimensis, and Bacillus thuringiensis species . For cytotoxicity, among three different cancer cell lines (HCT116, MCF7, HUH7) compounds 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, 5g, 5i, 5j and 5k were seemed especially effective on HUH7 cancer cell line via moderate to good activity. More significantly, against liver carcinoma cell line (HUH7) most of the compounds of the series ( 5c-5g and 5i-5j ) have better IC₅₀ values (IC₅₀= 18.78 µM) than 5-Florouracil (5-FU) and also compound 5d possessed 10.1 µM value, which represents good druggable cytotoxic activity. Further, the molecules were also screened for in silico chemoinformatic and toxicity data to gather the predicted bioavailibity and safety measurements.     

Polymeric seven-coordinated organotin(IV) complexes derived from 5-amino-2-chlorobenzoic acid and in vitro anti-cancer studies

Cancer cases are alarmingly increasing worldwide, and newer chemotherapeutic agents are needed. Recent analogs of cisplatin (carboplatin, lobaplatin, nedaplatin and oxaliplatin) and their marketing as advanced chemotherapeutic drugs have furthered the interest in metal-based anti-cancer drugs. In the current study, two new polymeric organotin(IV) carboxylate complexes (1 and 2) have been synthesized and characterized. Spectroscopic studies showed that coordination took place via carboxylates. Furthermore, X-ray crystallographic study on 1 indicated that it possesses a monomeric structure and exists in polymeric formation due to additional Sn–N coordination, assigning seven coordinations to each metal ion. Both the complexes were tested against three cancerous (human colon cancer, HCT 116; breast cancer, MCF-7; and leukemia, K562) and one non-cancerous (3T3-L1) cell lines. Complex 1 showed exceptional cytotoxicity against cancerous cell lines (IC₅₀ = 1.0 μM for HCT 116; 258.7 nM for MCF-7; and 46.7 nM K562) and remained comparatively non-toxic against normal cells (IC₅₀ = 37.0?μM). This shows that both complexes have selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells.     

Searching for gallium bioactive compounds: Gallium(III) complexes of tridentate salicylaldehyde semicarbazone derivatives

In the search for gallium bioactive compounds five Ga(III) complexes, [Ga^III(L-H)₂](NO₃), with tridentate salicylaldehyde semicarbazone derivatives as ligands (L) have been synthesized and characterized in the solid state and in solution by different techniques. The crystal structure of [Ga^III(L4-H)₂](NO₃)·2H₂O, where L4 is 3-ethoxysalicylaldehyde semicarbazone, was solved by X-ray diffraction methods. The gallium(III) ion is in a distorted octahedral environment, coordinated to two nearly planar and mutually perpendicular 3-ethoxysalicylaldehyde semicarbazonato anions acting as tridentate ligands through their phenol and carbonyl oxygen atoms and their azomethine nitrogen atom. Their biological potential has been explored by evaluating their activity on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causative agent of tuberculosis, and their cytotoxicity on tumor cell lines. Three different human tumor cell lines were selected that show different degrees of resistance to metallodrugs: ovarian A2780 (low resistance), breast MCF7 (medium resistance) and prostate PC3 (high resistance) cells. Although the complexes have not shown activity on M. tuberculosis, complexation with gallium has led to the enhancement of the cytotoxic potencies of the organic compounds. Those complexes that contain a bromide substituent at the phenolate ring have shown the highest cytotoxicities. In particular, [Ga^III(L2-H)₂](NO₃), where L2 is 5-bromosalicylaldehyde semicarbazone,·has shown a remarkable cytotoxicity on A2780 tumor cell line with an IC₅₀ value of the same order than cisplatin (IC_{50 Ga-L2} = 2.4 ± 0.3 μM; IC_{50 cisplatin} = 2.0 ± 0.1 μM, 72 h incubation at 37 °C). Interestingly, this complex has also shown moderate cytotoxicity against MCF7 and PC3 cells (IC_{50 MCF7} = 30 ± 6; IC_{50 PC3} = 18 ± 3 μM). Therefore, this gallium compound could be considered a promising wide spectrum potential anti-tumor agent.     

The Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effect of a Novel Synthesized S-Triazine Dipeptide Series,and Toxicity Screening in Zebrafish Embryos

Several derivatives containing morpholine/piperidine, anilines, and dipeptides as pending moieties were prepared using s-triazine as a scaffold. These compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity against two human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), a colon cancer cell line (HCT-116), and a non-tumorigenic cell line (HEK 293). Tamoxifen was used as a reference. Animal toxicity tests were carried out in zebrafish embryos. Most of these compounds showed a higher activity against breast cancer than colon cancer. Compound 3a—which contains morpholine, aniline, and glycylglycinate methyl ester—showed a high level of cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells with IC₅₀ values of less than 1 µM. This compound showed a much lower level of toxicity against the non-tumorigenic HEK-293 cell line, and in the in vivo studies using zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, it induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. On the basis of our results, 3a emerges as a potential candidate for further development as a therapeutic drug to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.     

Total synthesis and cytotoxicity of (−)-jorumycin and its analogues

(?)-Jorumycin and its 15 C-22 analogues were prepared employing l-tyrosine as the chiral starting material via 21 steps. These analogues, along with (?)-jorumycin itself, were evaluated in vitro for cytotoxicity against HCT-8, BEL-7402, Ketr3, A2780, MCF-7, A549, BGC-823, Hela, HELF, and KB cells. The IC₅₀ values of the cytotoxicity of most of these analogs were at the level of nM, which was similar to that of (?)-jorumycin. Among these analogs including (?)-jorumycin, hippuric acid ester derivative 23 exhibited the most potent and broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity against the ten cell lines with an average IC₅₀ of 2.12 nM.     

Synthesis,crystal structures and spectroscopic properties of two new organotin (IV) complexes and their antiproliferative effect against cancerous and non-cancerous cells

Cancer has become a leading cause of death worldwide, which is responsible for 7.6 million cancer deaths according to GLOBOCAN survey conducted in 2008. The exploration of cis-platin analogues (carboplatin, lobaplatin, nedaplatin, oxaliplatin) and their incorporation to the treatment of cancer patients has further led interest in exploring metal-based anticancer drugs. The current study describes the synthesis of two new tetra-coordinated mono- and tetranuclear organotin(IV) carboxylate complexes and their in vitro anticancer studies. Each one of the complexes (1–2) has been characterized by analytical (micro- and gravimetric analysis) and spectroscopic (FTIR, ¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn-NMR) techniques. Furthermore, molecular structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated using X-ray crystallography. The characterization data showed that the coordination took place via oxygen atoms from the carboxylate anions to generate 1 as an organodistannoxane dimer and 2 as a mononuclear complex. Exceptionally, the NMR spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic study showed that acetone molecules also took part in crystallizing 2. Both complexes were tested against three cancerous (colon cancer HCT 116, breast cancer MCF 7, leukemia K562) and one non-cancerous (3T3-L1) cell lines. Both complexes showed same IC₅₀ value (0.2 μM) against HCT 116, whereas for the other two cancer cell lines (MCF 7 and K562) and a normal cell line (3T3-L₁), 2 showed results better than 1. Importantly, the complexes showed exceptional activity against MCF 7 and K562 cell lines and the IC₅₀ values were calculated in nanomoles (MCF 7, IC_50s = 86.5 and 53.4 nM; K 562, IC_50s = 22.9 and 49.6 nM for 1 and 2, respectively). Both, 1 and 2, showed IC₅₀ values many times better than the standard drugs (5-FU, Tamoxifen, betulinic acid and cis-platin) used. Compared to cancerous cell lines, the complexes showed mild toxicity against normal cells (3T3-L1). Overall, two remained relatively effective.     

New Oxaliplatin-Pyrophosphato Analogs with Improved In Vitro Cytotoxicity

Two new Pt(II)-pyrophosphato complexes containing the carrier ligands cis-1,3-diaminocyclohexane (cis-1,3-DACH) and trans-1,2-diamine-4-cyclohexene (1,2-DACHEX), variants of the 1R,2R-diaminocyclohexane ligand present in the clinically used Pt-drug oxaliplatin, have been synthesized with the aim of developing new potential antitumor drugs with high bone tropism. The complexes are more stable at physiological pH than in acid conditions, with Na₂[Pt(pyrophosphato)(cis-1,3-DACH)] (1) slightly more stable than [Pt(dihydrogenpyrophosphato)(1,2-DACHEX)] (2). The greater reactivity at acidic pH ensures a greater efficacy at the tumor site. Preliminary NMR studies indicate that 1 and 2 react slowly with 5’-GMP (used as a model of nucleic acids), releasing the pyrophosphate ligand and affording the bis 5’-GMP adduct. In vitro cytotoxicity assays performed against a panel of four human cancer cell lines have shown that both compounds are more active than oxaliplatin. Flow cytometry studies on HCT116 cells showed that the pyrophosphato compounds with the non-classical 1,3- and 1,4-diaminocyclohexane ligands (1 and 4) are the most capable to induce cells’ death by apoptosis and necrosis.     

Calaxanthones A-C,three new xanthones from the roots of Calophyllum calaba and the cytotoxicity

Three new xanthones, named calaxanthones A-C (1–3), along with 17 known xanthones (4–20) were isolated from the roots of Calophyllum calaba. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against five cancer cell lines (KB, HeLa S-3, HT-29, MCF-7 and HepG-2). Compound 3 showed potent cytotoxicity against all the five cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.82–5.04 μM. Furthermore, compound 6 showed potent cytotoxicity against KB, HeLa S-3 and HepG2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 7.06, 5.27 and 9.64 μM, respectively. Additionally, compound 7 showed potent cytotoxicity against KB cell with an IC₅₀ value of 4.62 μM.     

Chemical composition of the Brazilian native Cinnamomum stenophyllum (Meisn.) Vattimo-Gil essential oil by GC-qMS and GC × GC-TOFMS,and its cytotoxic activity

Cinnamomum stenophyllum (Meisn.) Vattimo-Gil (Lauraceae) is a native and vulnerable Brazilian species restricted to the Atlantic Forest. The leaf essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation was characterized for the first time by two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS). This analysis resulted in the tentatively identification of 80 compounds, showing the superior performance of this method in comparison to the seven compounds identified by GC–MS. The identified compounds included 8 ketones, 7 monoterpene hydrocarbons, 30 oxygenated monoterpenes, 4 sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 23 oxygenated sesquiterpenes, showing that the C. stenophyllum oil contained mostly oxygenated mono and sesquiterpenes. The oil cytotoxicity was tested against two human cancer cell lines, colon adenocarcinoma (HCT-116) and breast cancer carcinoma (MCF-7), and the non-tumor retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) using the colorimetric MTT assay. Both cancer cell lines were sensible to leaf essential oil, with IC₅₀ < 20 μg/mL (HCT, IC₅₀ = 9.95 μg/mL and MCF-7, IC₅₀ = 16.65 μg/mL), while there was no cytotoxicity against the non-tumor cells at tested concentrations (IC₅₀ > 50 μg/mL), suggesting selectivity to cancer cells. The results showed that the C. stenophyllum leaf essential oil has a cytotoxic potential, presenting several compounds already known as biologically active against tumor cells.     

Clausenawallines A and B, two new dimeric carbazole alkaloids from the roots of Clausena wallichii

Two new dimeric carbazole alkaloids, clausenawallines A and B, were isolated from the roots of Clausena wallichii. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Clausenawalline A was evaluated for its biological activities [anti-malaria (IC₅₀ 2.46 μg/mL), anti-TB (MIC 12.50 μg/mL)] and cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines [KB (IC₅₀ 7.87 μg/mL), MCF7 (IC₅₀ 25.43 μg/mL), and NCI-H187 (IC₅₀ 10.97 μg/mL)].