Abstract
In the course of studying differentiation-inducers from plants, their isolation was performed from the methanolic extract of Arctium Fructus (the fruits of Arctium lappa L., Compositae), and then their phagocytic activity on differentiated mouse myeloid leukemia cells (M1) was monitered. Thirteen compounds, including five new ones, were isolated as differentiation-inducers toward M1 cells. These consisted of two lignans, eight sesquilignans and three dilignans. Arctigenin (2) was the most effective compound of all those isolated, and it induced differentiation of M1 cells at a concentration 0.5 μM. Sesquilignans were less effective than lignans and dilignans showed even weaker activity. These lignoids were inactive towards a human acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60).
