Isolation, identification and antiproliferative activity of triterpenes from the genus Monotheca A. DC.

The Monotheca A. DC. is a monotypic genus of the family Sapotaceae, which is widely distributed in Afghanistan, Djbouti, Northern Somalia, Oman, Pakistan and Southern Ethiopia. North-west Pakistan is the main region where Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) A. DC., the only species of this genus, locally known as “Gurgura”, grows abundantly. It is an evergreen, fruit-producing medicinal tree. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the aerial parts of M. buxifolia afforded lupeol (1), lupeol acetate (2), betulin (3), oleanolic acid (4) and β-amyrin (5) from the n-hexane and the chloroform fractions. This is the first report on the isolation, and identification of triterpenes (1-5) as the major compounds in the active fractions with antiproliferative property, and also on the antiproliferative activity of M. buxifolia extract and fractions against the human lung cancer cell line NCI-H460 in vitro