Tropane alkaloids from the stem bark of Erythroxylum bezerrae

Six previously undescribed tropane alkaloids, designated as erythrobezerrines A-F, were isolated from the EtOH extract from the stem bark of Erythroxylum bezerrae Plowman. Their structures were elucidated based on the interpretation of the NMR and MS data and in some instances, confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against the cancer cell lines L929, PC-3, HCT-116, SNB-19 and NCI-H460, but only erythrobezerrine C showed moderate activity with IC₅₀ values of 3.38 and 5.43 μM for HCT-116 and NCI-H460, respectively.

Keywords: Cytotoxic activity; Erythroxylaceae; Erythroxylum bezerrae Plowman; Tropane alkaloids.