• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.234-241
• /
• 2014

To identify and isolate anticancer active compounds from Solanum nigrum, S. nigrum was extracted with MeOH and then fractionated with various organic solvents ($CH_2Cl_2$, EtOAc, n-BuOH, and $H_2O$). The cytotoxic effects of the MeOH extracts from S. nigrum and its organic solvent-soluble fractions were also tested in HT29 cells. All the MeOH extracts of S. nigrum and its organic-solvent extracts induced cytotoxicity in the HT29 cells. Among the extracts, $H_2O$ was the most effective. The $H_2O$ extract was purified further by repeated silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, Diaion HP- 20, and RP-18 column chromatography. An active anticancer compound, Des-N-26-methylene-dihydrotomatidine, was isolated with a molecular weight of 416 and a molecular formula of $C_{28}H_{48}O_2$. Analysis of the cytotoxic effects of Des-N-26-methylene-dihydrotomatidine on the HT29 cells compared to those of tomatine and tomatidine are similar in its structure, is higher than tomatidine above the 40 ${\mu}g/ml$ concentration, but lower than tomatine. This is the first study to describe the anticancer activity of Des-N-26-methylene-dihydrotomatidin, isolated from S. nigrum. Des-N-26- methylene-dihydrotomatidine seems to have potential as a natural bioactive compound.