Cytotoxic Activity of Compounds from Styrax obassia

Abstract

Cancer is a major public health burden in both developed and developing countries. Plant-derived compounds have played an important role in the development of useful anti-cancer agents. The current study was designed to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of chemical compounds from the stem bark of Styrax obassia. Seven known compounds (1–7) were isolated and identified. Compound 2 exhibited cytotoxic activity against the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with an IC50 of 27.9 μM, followed by the human cervical cancer cell line Hela with an IC50 of 23.3 μM, and the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 with an IC50 of 47.8 μM. Compound 7 exhibited cytotoxicity against Hela cells with an IC50 of 16.8 μM, followed by MCF-7 cells with an IC50 of 53.5 μM. This is the first study to investigate the significant anti-tumor properties of isolated compounds from the stem bark of S. obassia.