A cytotoxic 4α-methyl steroid from the aerial parts of Cimicifuga foetida L

A new 4α-methyl sterol, cimisterol A (1), together with five known compounds (2–6), were isolated from the aerial parts of Cimicifuga foetida L. The new compound's structure was determined with the help of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Compound 1 exhibited broad-spectrum and potent cytotoxic activities against human HL-60, Jurkat, K562, U937, HepG-2, and SGC-7091 cell lines, with IC50 values of 7.23, 2.89, 6.88, 3.38, 4.21, and 4.89 μM, respectively. Compound 3 showed moderate to weak activities to all cell lines, except for SGC-7091, having IC50 values ranging from 13.37 to 17.72 μM. This is the first time a cytotoxic 4α-methyl sterol constituent was discovered from Cimicifuga spp.

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