cephalotaxus hainanensis/breast neoplasms

BACKGROUND Cephalotaxus spp. are known to possess anticancer potential. In this present work, for the first time the effects of C. griffithii needle (CGN) extracts on human cancer cells were examined. METHODS The CGN was successively extracted with petroleum ether (PE), acetone and methanol. The

Homoharringtonine (HHT) is an ester of cephalotaxine (CET), both of which derive from the Chinese coniferous tree Cephalotaxus hainanensis. HHT inhibited tumor cell growth at molar ranges comparable to established cytostatic drugs, whereas CET was 3-4 orders of magnitude less active. Inhibition

Harringtonine and its derivative homoharringtonine are ester-containing anti-leukemic alkaloids isolated from the tree Cephalotaxus harringtonia. In order to compare their antitumor activity against solid tumors, in vitro culture of fresh tumor cells from 23 patients was carried out with a soft agar

Cephafortunoids A-D (1-4), four new compounds, together with ten known ones (5-14), were isolated from the branches and leaves of Cephalotaxus fortunei var. alpina. 1 and 2 represent the first examples of Cephalotaxus troponoid diterpenoids featured an intact C₂₀ skeleton with