Epoxide Sesquiterpenes and Steroids from Cremanthodium discoideum

Abstract

Two new epoxide bisabolane sesquiterpenes and a new steroid were isolated from the whole plants of Cremanthodium discoideum Maxim. Their structures have been established by spectroscopic methods including two-dimensional n.m.r. (¹H–¹H COSY, ¹H–¹H NOESY, HMBC, HMQC) techniques. Six known steroids were also isolated and characterized. Compound (1) has antibacterial activity against Bacillus aeruginosus and B. subtilis. Two sesquiterpenes showed significant activity against two tumour cell lines: human promyelocytic leukemia cell HL-60 and human hapatoma cell SMMC-7721.