Five new 5,6-β-epoxywithanolides from Physalis minima.

Five new 5,6-β-epoxywithanolides (1-5) were isolated from the whole plants of Physalis minima L.. Their structural elucidations were achieved by the extensive spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV, HR-ESI-MS, 1D-NMR, and 2D-NMR). The isolates were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activities on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells and cytotoxic activities against three cancer cell lines, viz. A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells, SMMC-7721 hepatic carcinoma cells and MCF-7 breast cancer cells by using the MTT-based assay. All of them possessed moderate inhibition to the production of nitric oxide with IC₅₀ values from 42.18 to 73.26 μM, and the IC₅₀ values of the cytotoxic activities were in the range of 31.25 to 80.14 μM.