ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the chemical constituents from the leaves of Swertia atroviolacea and five compounds were obtained. In addition, the cytotoxic activity of compound 1 was tested. Methods: Compounds 1-5 were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography, Zorbax PrepHT GF (250 mm×21.2 mm) reversed phase and Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatography, and other modern separation technology. Their structures were elucidated by physicochemical properties and spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 was evaluated for its in vitro cytotoxicity against human tumor NB4, A549, SHSY5Y, PC3, and MCF-7 cell line, using the MTT method. Results: Five compounds were obtained from the 95% ethanol extract from the leaves of S. atroviolacea, and identified as 3-(3-methyl-2-oxobut-3-enyl)-6-acetyl-1, 5-dimethoxy-xanthone (1), 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydro-1, 4, 6, 8-tetrahydroxyxanthone (2), 1, 3-dimethoxy-8-hydroxy-xanthone (3), 1, 2, 6, 8-tetrahydroxy-xanthone (4), and ursolic acid (5). The IC50 values of compound 1 on NB4, A549, SHSY5Y, PC3, and MCF-7 were all below 10 μmol/L. Compound 1 had higher cytotoxic activity on A549 and MCF-7, and the IC50 values were 5.2 and 3.8 μmol/L. Conclusion: Compound 1, named atroviolacone A, is a new compound, and exhibits significant cytotoxic activity.