Studies on Iridoid-Related Compounds. IV. : Antitumor Activity of Iridoid Aglycones

Abstract

An extensive study has been made on the antitumor activity of several iridoid glycosides and their aglycones in mice bearing the experimental tumor leukemia P388. Most of the aglycones were found to be active. Among them, scadoside methyl ester aglycone (SMEH) showed the most potent activity, and it was furhter tested against several kinds of experimental tumor. None of the glucosides showed any activity. Our observations suggest that the hemiacetal structure of iridoid aglycones plays a significant role in the antitumor activity, as in the case of the antimicrobial activity reported previously.