ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the chemical constituents from Gleditsiae Spina (the thorns of Gleditsia sinensis) and their antitumor activitives. Methods: The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by the chromatography on repeated silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 column, semi-preparative HPLC, etc. Their structures were elucidated by NMR and MS spectroscopic data analyses; The cytotoxicity of compounds 1-4 and 6 was evaluated against human liver cancer SK-HEP-1 cells by MTT assay. Results: Twelve compounds were isolated from Gleditsiae Spina, and identified as 2-aminoimidazole (1), 2,3-dihydro-5-(2-formylvinyl)-7-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-benzofuranmethanol (2), E-cinnamic acid (3), 3-O-trans-feruloylquinic acid (4), trans-caffeic acid (5), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzamide (6), threo-guaiacylglycerol-β-coniferyl aldehyde ether (7), 5,7-dihydroxy-chromone (8), vanillic acid (9), protocatechuic acid (10), 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid methyl ester (11), and 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid ethyl ester (12); Compound 1 exhibited the potent cytotoxicity against SK-HEP-1 cells with IC50 value of 34.47 μg/mL. Conclusion: All the compounds except compound 5 are isolated from the plants of Gleditsia L. for the first time; Compound 1 shows significant cytotoxic activity against SK-HEP-1 cells.