Cytotoxic agents for KB and SiHa cells from <i>n</i>-hexane fraction of <i>Cissampelos pareira</i> and its chemical composition

<div><p>Eleven constituents were characterised by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, and five molecules were isolated using column chromatography. The <i>in vitro</i> study of the extract and isolated molecules against KB and SiHa cell lines revealed oleanolic acid (<b>1</b>) and oleic acid (<b>2</b>) as potent cytotoxic molecules with potential anticancer activity. The IC₅₀ values of <i>n</i>-hexane extract (CPHF), oleanolic acid (<b>1</b>) and oleic acid (<b>2</b>) were >300, 56.08 and 70.7 μg/mL (μM), respectively, against KB cell lines and >300, 47.24 and 80.2 μg/mL (μM), respectively, against SiHa cell lines.</p></div

Bioactive isoquinoline alkaloids from <i>Cissampelos pareira</i>^†

<p>The phytochemical and biological investigation of <i>Cissampelos pareira</i> leads to the isolation of one new isoquinoline alkaloid (<b>7</b>) along with six known isoquinoline alkaloids, namely, magnoflorine (<b>1</b>), magnocurarine (<b>2</b>), cissamine (<b>3</b>), curine (<b>4</b>), hayatinine (<b>5</b>) and cycleanine (<b>6</b>). Magnoflorine (<b>1</b>) and magnocurarine (<b>2</b>) were isolated for the first time from <i>C. pareira.</i> A new, rapid, simple and sensitive UPLC method was developed for simultaneous quantification of five pure compounds (<b>1</b>–<b>5</b>). Seasonal variation study revealed higher content of these compounds during the rainy season. The chloroform (CPCF) and <i>n</i>-butanol (CPBF) fractions showed cytotoxic efficacy against KB cells. Among pure compounds, hayatinine (<b>5</b>) was found to be most active against KB and A549, while, cycleanine (<b>6</b>) against KB cells.</p