Chemical investigation of the CH2Cl2 and MeOH crude extracts of the roots of Melodorum fruticosum Lour. led to the isolation of 15 known compounds, of which 5, 10, and 12-15 are reported for the first time from this plant. In addition, melodorinol (7) was derivatized to afford six new (7a-7d and
Four additional new bioactive heptenes, melodorinol [2], homomelodienone [4], 7-hydroxy-6-hydromelodienone [5], and homoisomelodienone [7] have been isolated from Melodorum fruticosum. These compounds were slightly to significantly cytotoxic to human tumor cell lines. Their structures have been