Cytotoxic constituents of ethyl acetate fraction from Dianthus superbus.

The ethyl acetate fraction (EE-DS) from Dianthus superbus was found to possess the cytotoxic activity against cancer cells in previous study. To investigate cytotoxic constituents, the bioassay-guided isolation of compounds from EE-DS was performed. Two dianthramides (1 and 2), three flavonoids (3-5), two coumarins (6 and 7) and three other compounds (8-10) were obtained. Structures of isolated compounds were identified by spectroscopic analysis. Cytotoxicity of the compounds against HepG2 cells was evaluated. Compound 1 showed the strongest cytotoxicity, compounds 10, 4, 3 and 5 had moderate cytotoxicity.