Libocedroquinone: A Promising Anticancer Lead against Lung Cancer from Calocedrus Decurrens

Abstract

AbstractA focus on evaluating anticancer potency of various extracts of the heartwood of Calocedrus decurrens against human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cell line was performed using in vitro MTT assay. The hexane extract displayed excellent cytotoxic effect, and the phytochemical investigation of the hexane and acetone extracts resulted in the isolation of five major compounds. The structure of the compounds was established as libocedrol (1), thymoquinone (2), libocedroquinone (3), diethylphthalate (4), and (1 R, 2 R, 4 R)-p-menthane-1,2,4-triol (5). Compounds 4 and 5 are reported for the first time from the Calocedrus genus. Compounds 1–3 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against the lung cancer cell line along with a healthy control. Compound 3 was more potent than other compounds against the A549 cell line with an IC50 of 4.8 µM at 24 h. Moreover, compound 3 exhibited less toxicity with the normal lung fibroblast cell line WI-38. This is the first anticancer study of the species Calocedrus decurrens.