AROMATASE INHIBITORY AND CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS FROM THE VIETNAMESE MEDICINAL PLANT BAN-CHI-LIEN (SCUTELLARIA BARBATA D. DON)

Do Thi Thao (Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam)
Le Quang Huan (Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam)
Do Khac Hieu (Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam)
Nguyen Quyet Chien (Institute of Chemistry, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam)
Nguyen Van Hung (Institute of Chemistry, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam)

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development
Vol. 25 No. 2 (2008): ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development (AJSTD)

Aromatase inhibitory and cytotoxic activities were determined for apigenin, luteolin and the new diterpene named scutebarbalactone VN, which were obtained by bioassay-guided fractionation and isolation from the methanol extract of the Vietnamese medicinal plant Banchi-lien (Scutellaria barbata D. Don). In the aromatase inhibition assay, an IC50 value of 3.36 mM was found for scutebarbalactone VN, while IC50  values of 7.2 mM and 7.95 mM were found for the positive controls aminoglutethimide and b-estradiol, respectively. In the cytotoxicity  assays using a panel of human cancer cell lines, scutebarbalactone VN showed promising anticancer activity with IC50  ranging from 2.15 to 8.3 mM compared with those of the positive control ellipticine ranging from 1.0 to 2.1 mM. Apigenin and luteolin were found to be inactive  in both assays.