Antiproliferative Constituents of the Roots of Ethiopian <i>Podocarpus falcatus</i> and Structure Revision of 2α-Hydroxynagilactone F and Nagilactone I

Abstract

Bioassay-guided fractionation using the human colorectal adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cell line of the methanol extract of dried roots of <i>Podocarpus falcatus</i> led to the isolation of two new type C nagilactones, 16-hydroxynagilactone F (<b>1</b>) and 2β,16-dihydroxynagilactone F (<b>2</b>), and the new totarane-type bisditerpenoid 7β-hydroxymacrophyllic acid (<b>4</b>), along with the seven known compounds 2β-hydroxynagilactone F (<b>3</b>), macrophyllic acid (<b>5</b>), nagilactone D (<b>6</b>), 15-hydroxynagilactone D (<b>7</b>), nagilactone I (<b>8</b>), inumakiol D (<b>9</b>), and ponasterone A (<b>10</b>). The structures of the new compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, UV, and IR and by comparison with the reported spectroscopic data of their congeners. The orientation of the C-2 hydroxy group of <b>3</b> and <b>8</b> was revised to be β based on evidence from detailed analysis of 1D and 2D NMR data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Among the isolated compounds, the nagilactones, including the new dilactones 16-hydroxynagilactone F (<b>1</b>) and 2β,16-dihydroxynagilactone F (<b>2</b>), were the most active (IC₅₀ 0.3–5.1 μM range) against the HT-29 cell line, whereas the bisditerpenoids (<b>4</b> and <b>5</b>) and the other known compounds <b>9</b> and <b>10</b> were inactive. The presence of the bioactive nagilactones in <i>P. falcatus</i> supports its traditional use