Cytotoxic potential of dihydrochalcones from Eriosema glomeratum and their semi-synthetic derivatives

Abstract

In the search of cytotoxic dihydrochalcones, this investigation led to the isolation of seven compounds (1-7) from Eriosema glomeratum and the preparation of eight derivatives (8-15). The cytotoxicity of samples was evaluated against lung (A549), breast (MCF-7), and cervical (HeLa) human cancer cells. The CH2Cl2/MeOH extract of the aerial part had strong cytotoxicity against all cells [IC50 11.2 (MCF-7), 8.4 (HeLa) and 13.1 (A549) 𝜇g/mL]. A strong activity was also displayed by the n-hexane fraction on MCF-7 (IC50 11.2 𝜇g/mL). The precursor 3 and the derivative 8 were specifically found as strong cytotoxic agents toward MCF-7 (7.6 𝜇M) and