Abstract
Phytochemical investigation of the MeOH extract of Cucumis melo L. var. reticulates, Cucurbitaceae, seeds led to the isolation of a new triterpenoid: cucumol A (27-hydroxy taraxerol-3 beta-ol), along with three known compounds: alpha-spinasterol and D:B-friedoolean-5-ene-3-beta-ol. Their structures were established by extensive 1D (H-1, C-13, and DEPT) and 2D (H-1-H-1 COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR, as well as IR and HRESIMS spectral analyses. Compound 3 displayed cytotoxic activity against L5178Y and Hela cancer cell lines with ED50 of 1.30 and 5.40 mu g/ml, respectively compared to paclitaxel (0.07 and 0.92 mu g/ml, respectively). (C) 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Farmacognosia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.