Sinapyl alcohols analogues from the stembark of Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC and their cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line

Abstract Three sinapyl alcohol analogues, 4-O-[(2E)-3,7,7-Trimethyl-2,6-octadiene] (1), 4-O-[(2E)-3,7-Dimethyl-2,7-octadiene-6-ol] (2) and 4-O-[(2E)(5E)-3,7,7-Trimethyl-2,5-octadiene-7-ol] (3) have been isolated from the stem bark of Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC (Rutaceae). The chemical structures of compounds 1-3 were determined based on spectroscopic data including one and two-dimensional NMR, and mass spectroscopy. Cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines was tested in vitro using these sinapyl alcohols. Among the isolated compounds 1, showed the strongest activity with an IC50 value of 54.18 µg/mL, suggesting that the presence of a gem-dimethyl and hydroxyl groups play important role for cytotoxic activity. Keywords: Cytotoxic activity, MCF-7 cell lines, Rutaceae, sinapyl alcohol, Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC.