In vitro antitumor effects of two novel compounds Y17 and Y18, isolated from a Chinese medicinal plant

Naturally derived stilbenes have various biological properties, including cytotoxic, anti-ecdysteroidal, anti-mutagenic, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities. Previous phytochemical studies revealed that Chinese medicinal plants are rich in natural stilbenes. The purpose of the present study was to determine the anti-tumor effects and mechanism of action of the novel oligostilbene isomers, Y17 and Y18, isolated from a Chinese medicinal plant. Y17 and Y18 exhibited remarkable cytotoxicity against selected human cancer cell lines A549, BT20, MCF7, and U2OS, but showed much less toxicity to two normal human cell lines, HPL1A and HMEC. We also demonstrated that Y17 and Y18 exerted their anti-tumor effects by stimulating apoptosis, decreasing membrane mitochondrial potential, inhibiting cell motility, and blocking the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway in human cancer cells. In addition, we evaluated their respective bioefficacy and found that, interestingly, Y17 is more potent than Y18. Collectively, we showed that both compounds Y17 and Y18 could be promising chemotherapeutic agents.