Antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities of five compounds from Schisandra chinensis fruit

Schisandra chinensis fruit has been used as functional foods and traditional Chinese medicine for thousands years. In order to illustrate the main active components, one triterpenoid and four lignan compounds were isolated from Schisandra chinensis. The antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities of the five compounds and extract were evaluated by DPPH radical-scavenging assay and MTT assay on prostate cancer cells PC3. The structures of the compounds were fully characterized, which were d-epigalbacin, machilin G, chicanine, anwulignan, and epi-anwuweizic acid, respectively. Activity results showed that epi-anwuweizic acid had the highest cytotoxic activity on prostate cells (IC50 = 36.5 μM) but lower antioxidant activities. Chicanine had good anti-proliferation (IC50 = 44.2 μM) and antioxidant activities (IC50 = 26.0 μM,) with no significant toxic effects on normal cells. The results suggested that there were lignan and triterpenoid compounds in Schisandra chinensis to have biological activities on diseases associated with aging and cancer.