Anticancer Effect of a New Benzophenanthridine Isolated from Zanthoxylum madagascariense (Rutaceline)

Fractionation of the cyclohexane extract from the stem bark powder of Zanthoxylum madagascariense led to the isolation of a new benzophenanthridine-type alkaloid, hydrochloride of 2,3-methylendioxy-8-hydroxy-7-methoxy- benzo(C)phenanthridine (Rutaceline), characterized on the basis of its spectral data. Rutaceline was evaluated for its antiproliferative capacity on the human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) and the African green monkey kidney (Vero) cell lines. The 50% inhibition of cell growth (IC50) obtained after 24 h incubation was similar for both cells lines (110-115 Ig/ml, i.e. 269-281 IM), but at 48 h the IC50