Two New Triterpene Glycosides from the Vietnamese Sea CucumberHolothuria scabra

• DOI: 10.1007/bf02977361
• Publication Date: 2008-10-30T08:53:01Z
• Authors: Nguyen Hai Dang; Nguyen Van Thanh; Phan Van Kiem; Le Mai Huong; Chau Van Minh; Young Ho Kim
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Cell Line, Tumor; Sea Cucumbers; Animals; Humans; Antineoplastic Agents; Mass Spectrometry; Triterpenes; 3. Good health

Two new triterpene glycosides, namely holothurin A3 (1) and A4 (2) were isolated from the methanol extract of the sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, with their structures elucidated from the spectroscopic evidence (1D NMR, 2D NMR, ESI-MS and HRESI-MS). Compounds 1 and 2 were found to be strongly cytotoxic to both cancer cell lines, KB and Hep-G2, with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 0.87 and 0.32 microg/mL (for compound 1) and of 1.12 and 0.57 microg/mL (for compound 2), respectively.