ABSTRACT
The compass plant, Silphium laciniatum, is an iconic perennial plant of the North American tallgrass prairie. The plants of the tallgrass prairie historically have been subjected to a number of biological and environmental stresses. Among the adaptations developed by S. laciniatum is a large deep taproot. An investigation of the secondary metabolites found in the root of a S. laciniatum specimen has led to the identification of 15 new terpenoids (3-8, 10-17, and 22), which were screened for cytotoxic activity in the NCI-H460 human large-cell lung carcinoma cell line.
Subject(s)
Asteraceae/chemistry , Terpenes/isolation & purification , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , Humans , Missouri , Molecular Structure , Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular , Terpenes/chemistry , Terpenes/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Species extinction is tantamount to loss of chemical diversity, and so it is important to seize all opportunities to study species on the brink of extinction. Such studies are often hampered by the limited material available, but that obstacle is surmountable through collaboration with botanical gardens and advances in instrumentation. The goldenrod Solidago shortii is one example of an endangered species native to the United States. From S. shortii, one known diterpene (1), two new diterpenes (2 and 3), and three new hydrolysis products (4-6) are described. This work was made possible through collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden and with the use of highly sensitive microcryoprobe NMR technology for structure elucidation and VCD spectroscopy for the determination of absolute configuration.