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Cytotoxic aryltetralin lignans and sesquiterpene lactones from the flowers of Tithonia diversifolia

Tran Minh The, Phi Thi Dao, Nguyen Thuy Linh, Tran Thu Huong, Pham Van Cuong, Doan Thi Mai Huong
Author affiliations

Authors

  • Tran Minh The \(^1\) Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
    \(^2\) Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet, Bach Mai ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
  • Phi Thi Dao \(^1\) Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
  • Nguyen Thuy Linh \(^1\) Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1817-0687
  • Tran Thu Huong \(^2\) Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet, Bach Mai ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
  • Pham Van Cuong \(^1\) Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
    \(^3\) Faculty of Chemistry, Graduate University of Science and Technology, VAST, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
  • Doan Thi Mai Huong \(^1\) Institute of Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
    \(^3\) Faculty of Chemistry, Graduate University of Science and Technology, VAST, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Nghia Do ward, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
    https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3252-870X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15625/2525-2518/22395

Keywords:

Tithonia diversifolia, aryltetralin lignan, sesquiterpene lactone, cytotoxicity

Abstract

Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray has been utilized traditionally to treat various diseases, including cancer, acne, acute enteritis, and gastritis. The ethyl acetate extract derived from the flowers of this plant demonstrated potent cytotoxic activity against KB cells, exhibiting 96 % inhibition at a concentration of 1 µg/mL. As a result, phytochemical investigation of the flower extract of Tithonia diversifolia led to the isolation of two lignans (1–2) and six sesquiterpene lactones (3–8). Their chemical structures were identified as cleiseberharside A (1), cleisindoside A (2), tirotundin (3), 2β-methoxydesoxytagitinin B (4), tagitinin C (5), 1β,2α-epoxytagitinin C (6), tagitinin G (7), and tagitinin H (8) by the spectroscopic analyses, including ESI-MS, 1D, and 2D NMR spectra, and comparison with the literature data. Notably, compounds 1 and 2 were discovered from the Tithonia genus for the first time. Compounds 3-6 displayed significant cytotoxicity against KB, MCF7, HepG2, and A549 cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 0.28 to 3.76 µM. Especially, tagitinin C (5) exhibited the strongest cytotoxic effect against all four tested human cancer cell lines (KB, MCF7, HepG2, A549), with IC50 values of 0.28, 1.18, 1.38, and 1.15 µM, respectively, comparable to the reference compound ellipticine.

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Published

07-04-2026

How to Cite

The, T. M., Dao, P. T., Linh, N. T., Huong, T. T., Cuong, P. V., & Huong, D. T. M. (2026). Cytotoxic aryltetralin lignans and sesquiterpene lactones from the flowers of Tithonia diversifolia. Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.15625/2525-2518/22395

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Natural Products

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