Sesquiterpenes from the Leaves of Magnolia delavayi Franch. and Their Cytotoxic Activities

Thirteen sesquiterpenes including eight new ones, magnodelavins A-H (1-8), were obtained from the 95 % ethanolic extract of the leaves of Magnolia delavayi Franch. The structures of the new compounds were determined by exhaustive ¹ H-, ¹³ C-, 2D-NMR, UV, IR, and HR-ESI-MS data, as well as X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compounds 9 and 10 showed potent cytotoxic activities against HL-60, A-549, SMMC-7721, MCF-7, and SW480 human cancer cell lines in vitro using MTS assay.

Anti-allergic and Cytotoxic Effects of Sesquiterpenoids and Phenylpropanoids Isolated from Magnolia biondii

Ten sesquiterpenoids (1-10) and six phenylpropanoid derivatives (11-16) were isolated from the flower buds of Magnolia biondii Pamp. Their structures were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and optical rotation. To evaluate their anti-allergic properties, the inhibitory effect of each isolate (1-16) on interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene expression was examined in Jurkat T cells. Among the isolated compounds, three sesquiterpenoids (2, 5, and 7) and two monoterpenoids (12 and 13) strongly inhibited IL-2 production in Jurkat T cells. Four compounds, (-)-parthenolide (2), eudesm-4(15)-eno-1β,6α-diol (5), biondinin D (12), and tiliroside (16), showed cytotoxicity against Jurkat T cells. In addition, (-)-parthenolide (2) exhibited cytotoxicity against the human cervical cancer HeLa cell line, the human breast cancer MCF-7, and human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell lines.