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A chemical investigation of the EtOAc-soluble fraction from the ethanol extract of the medullae of Juncus effusus led to the isolation of three new 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes, juncuenins E–G (1–3); two new phenanthrenes, dehydrojuncuenins D–E (4–5); one new feruloylated glycoside (6); and one known 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (7). The structures of these compounds were determined by analyzing their spectroscopic data. Metabolites 1–4 and 7 were further evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activities against seven human cancer lines (A549, MCF-7, BEL-7402, HeLa, COLO205, BGC-823, and SK-OV-3). Among them, compound 1 exhibited weak cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines. Compound 7 showed moderate cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines, with IC50 values of 9.17 and 19.6 µM, respectively.

Two novel tetralone dimers, with an O-bridge, named juglanones A and B (1 and 2, resp.), were isolated from the AcOEt extract of walnut pericarps. These compounds are the first examples of O-bridged dimeric tetralones. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods, including HR-TOF-MS, and 1D- and 2D-NMR. Biological evaluation of these two isolates against a number of human cancer cell lines is also described.

From the whole plant of Spiranthes sinensis, one novel dimeric phenanthrene, 2,2'-dihydroxy-5,5',7,7'-tetramethoxy-9,9',10,10'-tetrahydro-3,3'-biphenanthrene (1) and flavone 5-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxy-4'-(1-hydroxy-3-methylbut-3-en-2-yloxy)-flavone (2) were isolated along with three other known flavonoids, which are reported for the first time from this species. Their structures were established after an extensive analysis by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy (NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC) as well as HR-TOF-MS.

Aim To investigate the chemical constituents from the seeds of Millettia pachycarpa . Methods The compounds were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatography. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses, and their cytotoxic activities against human tumor cell lines (7860, A549, A2780, Hela, K562) and murine tumor cell lines (LL/2, B16) were evaluated by MTT assay. Results Four flavonoids were obtained and their structures were identified as 3-hydroxy-4-methoxylonchocarpin ( 1 ), 4-methoxylonchocarpin ( 2 ), isobavachromene ( 3 ), and dorspoinsettifolin ( 4 ). Conclusion Compound 1 is a new prenylated chalcone, and compounds 2–4 were isolated from this genus for the first time. Compounds 1–4 selectively showed moderate inhibition against one or more of the tested cell lines.