Ingenane and jatrophane diterpenoids from Euphorbia kansui and their antiproliferative effects

In this study, fourteen ingenane-type and nine jatrophane-type diterpenoids were isolated from Euphorbia kansui, including seven undescribed compounds. Kansuingenol A-C have the 6,7-vicinal diol moiety, and Kansuijatrophanol A and B possess the 11,12-vicinal diol moiety, both of which are rarely reported. 3,4-(Methylenedioxy) cinnamyl moiety was found for the first time in jatrophane-type diterpenoids, as shown in Kansuijatrophanol C and D. The absolute configurations of seven undescribed compounds have been analyzed and assigned by the modified Mosher's method, Mo2(OAc)4-induced circular dichroism (ICD) method, and CD exciton chirality method. All compounds were screened for their antiproliferative effects against HepG2, MCF-7 and DU145 cell lines. Regarding the HepG2 cells, Kansuijatrophanol C exhibited the most promising inhibition with the IC50 value of 9.47 ± 0.31 μM. Regarding the MCF-7 and DU145 cells, Kansuijatrophanol D exhibited the most promising inhibition with the IC50 values of 6.29 ± 0.18 and 4.19 ± 0.32 μM, respectively.