Two new β-dihydroagarofuran-type sesquiterpenes 1β,2α,6α,8β,15- pentaacetoxy- 9α-benzoyloxy- β-dihydroagarofuran (1) and 1β,2β,6α,15-tetraacetoxy-9β-benzoyloxy- β-dihydroagarofuran (2), together with five known abietane diterpenoids (3-7) were isolated from ethyl acetate extract of stems of Tripterygium wilfordii. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic and physico-chemical analyses. All the isolates were evaluated for in vitro inhibitory activity against A549, HOS and MCF-7. Among them, compounds 4 and 5 exhibited manifest inhibition on A549, HOS and MCF-7 cancer cell lines.
Keywords: Tripterygium wilfordii; cytotoxicity; sesquiterpene.