Cytotoxic potential of phenolic glycosides from Stipagrostis plumosa

Chemical analysis of the aqueous and n-butanol fractions of methanolic extract of Stipagrostis plumosa Munro ex T.Anderson, Poaceae, aerial parts led to isolation of seven known phenolic glycosides 3,4′-dihydroxypropiophenone-3-O-β-D-glucoside, 5′-methoxy-3,4′-dihydroxypropiophenone-3-O-β-D-glucoside, 3′5′-dimethoxy-3,4′-dihydroxypropiophenone-3-O-β-D-glucoside, 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-β-D-glucopyranose, tricin-7-O-rutinoside, tricin-7-O-β-D-glucoside, and apigenin-6-C-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-8-C-β-D-glucopyranoside. The cytotoxic activity of the isolates, expressed as IC50, was assessed against five different tumor cell lines (JEG-3, HeLa, MCF-7, NCI-H295R, and Hep-G2), cancer like cells (MCF-10A), and normal cells (HDFa) using tamoxifen as a reference drug. All tested compounds exhibited promising activity against JEG-3 cell line as compared to the reference tamoxifen. Fluorescence imaging study indicated the disruption of cell nucleus and lower integrity of F-actin filament, suggesting a potential two-phase cytotoxicity mechanism.