ABSTRACT
Objective: In order to further study the chemical constituents of Blumea balsamifera and evaluate the cytotoxic activities of the compounds. Methods: The chemical components of B. balsamifera were purified by various chromatographic methods. MTT method was employed to screen the cytotoxic activities to the five tumor cells (HeLa, MCF-7, A549, MGC-803 and COLO-205 cells) of the purified compounds. Results: Two sesquiterpenoid esters blumeaene N (compound 1) and blumeaene F (compound 2) were isolated from B. balsamifera, of which, blumeaene N was a novel compound. The screening results of cytotoxin activities showed that compound 1 had certain inhibitory activities for the five tumor cells with the IC50 value ranges from 48.730 μmol/L to 97.907 μmol/L; Compound 2 also had a weak inhibitory activity on MCF-7 cell lines with the IC50 value of 91.188 μmol/L. Conclusion: Compound 1 is a new sesquiterpenoid ester found from B. balsamifera. Cytotoxic activities screening results indicated that B. balsamifera contains anti-tumor active ingredients.