Isolation and antiproliferative activity of chemical constituents from Asystasia buettneri Lindau.

N-hexane and methanol extracts of Asystasia buettneri Lindau aerial parts exhibited antiproliferative activity on leukaemia blood carcinoma, K-562. Hexadecane (1), 1,3-propan-2-ol (9Z,12'Z,15″Z)-bis(doeicos-9,12,15-trienoate) (2), hydrocarbon, 2,3,3,10,23-pentamethyl tetraeicos-10,13,16-trien-1-ol (3), hexadecanoic acid (4) and taraxerol (5) were isolated from n-hexane extract; stigmasterol (6) and (Z)-9-octadecenoic acid (7) were isolated from ethyl acetate extract; while unsaturated hydrocarbons, octadecene (8), 8-methyl tetradec-6-ene (9) and 19-methyl eicos-1-ene (10), fatty acids, (Z)-5-hexadecenoic acid (11), 11,22-dimethyl ethyltrieicos-11-enoate (12) and taraxasterol (13) were isolated from methanol extract of the plant. Compounds 4, 5, 7, 11, 12 and 13 exhibited antiproliferative activity against K-562, while compounds 5, 6, 7 and 9 revealed antiproliferative activity by inhibiting hepatic liver (WRL68) cell lines.