Cytotoxic dimeric indole alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus

Abstract Three new dimeric indole alkaloids ( 1 – 3 ), together with five known ones ( 4 – 8 ), were isolated from the whole plants of Catharanthus roseus . The structures and absolute configurations of new compounds were elucidated by means of NMR and CD analyses. All these compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activities against human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231.