Phytochemical and biological studies on Piptocarpha axillaris (Less.) Baker (Asteraceae)

Abstract The phytochemical investigation of Piptocarpha axillaris (Less.) Baker (Asteraceae) leaves resulted in the identification of 20 known compounds. Terpenes, steroids, flavonoids and phenolic acids were identified and isolated by column chromatography, high performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC), UPLC-MS/MS, 1D and 2D NMR, GC-MS and compared to literature data. Extract (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate) and 5-hydroxy-3′,4′,7-trimethoxyflavanone ( compound 10 ) cytotoxicity against the growth of two human tumor cell lines (histiocytic lymphoma U-937 and acute monocytic leukemia THP-1) and a human non-tumor cell line (PBMC) were assessed by the MTT method. The dichloromethane extract displayed low activity, but the most significant result against the U-937 cell line, with an IC 50 63.82 ± 1.06 μg/mL and a good selectivity index (SI) of 5.51. All extracts tested in PBMC cells displayed high cytotoxicity. The cytotoxic evaluation of compound 10 displayed low activity against the U-937 and THP-1 cell lines. Twelve compounds comprising triterpenes, steroids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids are described herein for the first time for the Piptocarpha genus. In addition, this is the first phytochemical investigation and cytotoxic evaluation of Piptocarpha axillaris (Less.) Baker that displays chemotaxonomic significance.