Discovery and antitumor activities of constituents from Cyrtomium fortumei (J.) Smith rhizomes

Using the bioassay-guided technique, the ethyl acetate and n-BuOH extracts of the rhizomes of Cyrtomium fortumei (J.) Smith were shown to exhibit good antitumor activities, consequently leading to the isolation of 23 compounds. All compounds were isolated from the plant for the first time. The inhibitory activities of these compounds were investigated on tumor cells MGC-803, PC3, and A375 in vitro by MTT (thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide) assay, and the results showed that pimpinellin (3) had potent cytotoxic activities against the three cell lines, with the IC50 values of 14.4？±？0.3？μM, 20.4？±？0.5？μM, and 29.2？±？0.6？μM, respectively. The mechanism of the antitumor action indicated that pimpinellin inhibited the growth of MGC-803 cells via the induction of tumor cell apoptosis, with apoptosis ratio of 27.44% after 72？h of treatment at 20？μM.This study suggests that most of the compounds from the roots of Cyrtomium fortumei (J.) Smith could inhibit the growth of human carcinoma cells. Moreover, pimpinellin inhibited the growth of tumor cells via the induction of tumor cell apoptosis.Cyrtomium fortumei (J.) Smith belongs to the Dryopteridaceae family which comprises approximately 14 genera and 1700 species throughout the world, and is widely spread in tropical and subtropical regions. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2005 edition) listed Cyrtomium fortumei (J.) Smith as an official drug, which showed that the plant could be used as anticancer herbs [1]. In the past, people used the rhizomes and extracts from the plant as vermifuges [2]. The plant can be used to cure many diseases, such as influenza, acute and chronic pharyngitis, cancer, and migraine [3]. In addition, the herb was used as antiviral agents to cure severe acute respiratory syndrome, a life-threatening viral respiratory illness believed to be caused by a coronavirus [4]. Furthermore, phoroglucinols and flavonoids are known to display a wide array of pharmacological and biochemical actions, and have been isol