Three new sesquiterpenoids (1-3) and four new benzofuran dimers (+)-4 and (-)-4, (+)-5 and (-)-5, and four known benzofuran dimers (+)-6 and (-)-6, (+)-7 and (-)-7 were isolated from the underground parts of Eupatorium chinense. The enantiomers of racemates (±)-4 ~ (±)-7 were separated by chiral HPLC columns, and their absolute configurations were determined by circular dichroism experiments. The structures of all new compounds were elucidated on the basis of their NMR, and MS data as well as by comparison with literature values. The all of the isolated compounds were tested in vitro for their cytotoxic activities against the Caski, MDA-MB-231 and HepG2 cancer cell lines.
Keywords: Benzofuran dimers; Cytotoxic activity; Eupatorium chinense; Sesquiterpenoid; Structure elucidation.
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