Sesquiterpenoids and Flavonoids from the Aerial Parts of Tithonia diversifolia and Their Cytotoxic Activity

Cytotoxicity-guided fractionation of the 80% EtOH extract of Tithonia diversifolia has resulted in the isolation of twelve sesquiterpenoids (1-12), including three new ones (4, 10, 12), and three known flavonoids (13-15). The structures of the new compounds were determined by analysis of their spectroscopic data. The isolated compounds showed cytotoxic activity against HL-60 leukemia cells with IC_<50> values ranging from 0.13 to 13.0μM, when etoposide used as a positive control gave an IC_<50> value of 0.43μM. The cancer growth inhibitory property of 9, the main cytotoxic compound in T. diversifolia, was examined using a disease-oriented panel composed of 39 human cancer cell lines in the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research.