• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.148-152
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• 2010

Microbial metabolism studies of yangonin (1), a major styryl lactone from Piper methysticum, have resulted in the production of three hydroxylated metabolites (2-4). The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated to be 4-methoxy-6-(12-hydroxystyryl)-2-pyrone (2),4-methoxy-6-(11,12-dihydroxystyryl)-2-pyrone (3),and 4,12-dimethoxy-6-(7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrostyryl)-2-pyrone (4) on the basis of the chemical and spectroscopic analyses. The compounds 3 and 4 are reported herein as microbial metabolites of yangonin for the first time.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.5131-5136
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• 2012

Cancer is one of the major health problems worldwide and its current treatments have a number of undesired adverse side effects. Natural compounds may reduce these. Currently, a few plant products are being used to treat cancer. In this study, goniothalamin, a natural occurring styryl-lactone extracted from Goniothalamus macrophyllus, was investigated for cytotoxic properties against cervical cancer (HeLa), breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and colon cancer (HT29) cells as well as normal mouse fibroblast (3T3) using MTT assay. Fluorescence microscopy showed that GTN is able to induce apoptosis in HeLa cells in a time dependent manner. Flow cytometry further revealed HeLa cells treated with GTN to be arrested in the S phase. Phosphatidyl serine properties present during apoptosis enable early detection of the apoptosis in the cells. Using annexin V/PI double staining it could be shown that GTN induces early apoptosis on HeLa cells after 24, 48 and 72 h. It could be concluded that goniothalamin showing a promising cytotoxicity effect against several cancer cell lines including cervical cancer cells (HeLa) with apoptosis as the mode of cell death induced on HeLa cells by Goniothalamin was.