Active constituents of Zanthoxylum nitidum from Yunnan Province against leukemia

Abstract Zanthoxylum nitidium (Roxb.) DC (Rutaceae) is well known for inhibiting the proliferation of human gastric, liver, kidney and lung cancer cells, whereas research on its potential use in treating leukaemia is relatively rare. 26 compounds were isolated from the chloroform and petroleum ether extracts of the roots and leaves of Z. nitidium. The structures of four compounds (4-6 and 16) were confirmed and attributed firstly by UV-visible spectroscopy, 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS. Compounds 1-2 and11 were isolated from Z. nitidium for the first time. Of the assayed compounds, compounds 14 and24 showed inhibitory activities against leukaemia HEL cells with IC50 values of 3.59 and 15.95 µM. In addition, to further investigate the possible mechanism, the cell cycle and apoptosis assays were investigated, which indicated that compound14 caused obvious S phase arrest in HEL cells and induced cell apoptosis, but compound 24 induced only cell apoptosis of HEL cells. These results suggested that compounds 14 and 24 were the potential candidates for anti-leukaemia drug for the first time.