Ceramides and cytotoxic constituents from Ficus glumosa Del. (Moraceae)

Chemical investigation of the stem bark of Ficus glumosa (Moraceae) yielded two new ceramides (2R,7E)-2-hydroxy-N-[(2S,3S,4R)-1,3,4-trihydroxyhexadecan-2-yl] hexacos-7-enamide and (2R)-N-{(2S,3S,4R,9Z)-1-O-[(β-D-glucopyranosyl]-3,4-dihydroxyheptadec -9-en-2-yl}-2-hydroxypentacosanamide together with twenty one known compounds. The structures were established using NMR data, mass spectrometry, chemical transformation and by comparison with the reported data. Twenty one compounds were further tested against the prostate cancer PC-3 cell line and six of them revealed cytotoxic effect. Dongnoside E was the most active compound with an IC50 0.75 μmol L-1against the cancer cells line PC-3 while the reference drug doxorubicin displayed 0.91 μmol L-1. This compound also proved to inhibit the cell growth of the fibrosarcoma cancer HT1080 (IC50 0.7 μmol L-1). (author)