Cytotoxic triterpenoids from Ganoderma lucidum.

A systematic study of the metabolites in Ganoderma lucidum led to isolation of 43 triterpenoids, six of them (1–6) are hitherto unknown. The structures of the latter were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies and comparison with the known related compounds. All of the compounds were assayed for their inhibitory activities against human HeLa cervical cancer cell lines. Some compounds exhibit significant cytotoxicity, and their structure–activity relationships are discussed.