A potential cytotoxic principle of Zingiber cassumunar

Abstract

A bioassay-guided fractionation of the active chloroform extracts of the rhizomes of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. led to the isolation of a potential cytotoxic principle, curcumin (1), along with two inactive compounds, (E)-4-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-1-ol (2) and (E)-4-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-1-yl acetate (3). Curcumin (1) showed a significant cytotoxicity against several human cancer cell lines (Col2; 2.30, A549; 12.30, SNU638; IC50 18.80 μg/ml).