Cytotoxic diterpenoids from Croton kongensis inhibiting tumor proliferation and migration

Abstract

Thirty-two diterpenoids including 18 ent-kauranes (1–6, and 12–23), nine 8,9-seco-ent-kauranes (7–8, and 24–30), four ent-abietanes (9–10, and 31–32), and one crotofolane (11) were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Croton kongensis. The structures of previously unreported crokokaugenoids A–H (1–8), crokoabiegenoids A–B (9–10), and crokocrotogenoid A (11) were determined by spectroscopic data analyses, TDDFT-ECD and GIAO NMR calculations, and X-ray crystallographic studies. All compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against five human tumor cell lines, and the structure–activity relationships were discussed. Biological tests exhibited that compound 1 possessed strong anti-proliferation activity, arrested cell cycle at G2/M phase, and induced cell apoptosis of MDA-MB-231. The mechanism investigation showed that compound 1 can inhibit tumor proliferation and migration by targeting mitochondria to increase intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and regulating STAT3 and FAK signal pathways. Collectively, these findings supported the great potential of compound 1 as a hopeful anticancer agent.