Antitumor activity of stilbenoids and flavonoids isolated from Acanthopanax brachypus

This report is the first to detail the antitumor activity of Acanthopanax brachypus, a species well recognized by eastern folk medicine. Four stilbeniods and nine flavonoids have been isolated from stem bark of the plant. The isolates have been tested for their antitumor activity against selected human cancer cell lines (HgpG-2, MCF-7, K-562, and A-549). Even though three of the compounds have shown high to moderate cytotoxicity against certain cell lines (IC₅₀ of 4.5 to 6.5 μg/mL), in most of the experiments little or no anticancer activity has been revealed.