Cytotoxic Steroids from the Trunk of Berberis koreana

Abstract

A new steroid, itesmol 3-O-palmitate (1), along with two known steroids were isolated from the trunk of Berberis koreana. The structure of 1 was determined on the basis of spectroscopic analyses involving 2D NMR and chemical reactions. Compound 1 exhibited potential antiproliferative activity against A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT-15 cell lines (respective IC₅₀ values of 7.41, 9.20, 4.53, and 12.91 μM).