Bioguided chemical characterization of the antiproliferative fraction of edible pseudo bulbs of Malaxis acuminata D. Don by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS

摘要

Abstract The edible pseudo bulbs of Malaxis acuminata D. Don are used as a constituent of an Indian drug ‘Astavarga’ and in several marketed Ayurvedic formulations. The aim of the present work was to investigate the in vitro antiproliferative activity of the ethanolic extract and its fractions of the pseudo bulbs of Malaxis acuminata and to develop the HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS method for rapid de-replication of the phytoconstituents present in the bioactive fraction. The antiproliferative activity was evaluated against four human cancer cell lines, such as A549 (non-small cell lung cancer cells), DU145 (human prostate carcinoma), DLD1 (human colorectal adenocarcinoma), and MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) using the sulphorhodamine B assay. Eleven compounds including two flavonoids, three bisphenanthrene compounds, three stillbenoid compounds, two phenanthrene derivatives, and one prenylated benzoic acid were identified and characterized by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS analysis along with the isolation of three steroidal compounds by column chromatography. The present investigation indicated that pseudo bulbs of Malaxis acuminata possessed a potent antiproliferative activity. LC–MS/MS analysis provided rapid dereplication of compounds, which might be responsible for its antiproliferative activity.