Anti-tumor Constituents of Four Medicinal Plants from Lysimachia Genus

Lysimachia is a large genus of medicinal plants belonging to the PRIMULACEAE family, with about 180 species distributed worldwide. It is a folk medicinal plant used in some syndromes such as hypertension and rheumatic disease. There are limited studies on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of plants in this genus. Since 1994, a systematic study on the bioactive constituents of four species (Lysimachia congestiflora, Lysimachia capillipes, Lysimachia davuria and Lysimachia clethroides) have been carried out by our group. Till now 86 compounds have been purified and identified on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods, with saponins and flavonoids as the major constituents. Among them, 28 new oleanane triterpenoids and 4 new flavonoids were first reported, and two kinds of new saponin aglycones were first revealed as 3β, 16α, 22α-trihydroxy-28 → 13-lactone-oleanane and 3β, 22α, 28-trihydroxy-15α, 16α-epoxy-olean-12-ene. ZTF, a plant extract from Lysimachia clethroides, has shown clear antitumor activities against S180, H22, U14 and L1210 cell lines both in vivo and in vitro. It also induces cell apoptosis in HL-60, SMMC-7721 and K562 cell, inhibited metastasis on hepatoma and uterine cervix cancer. ZTF has potential to be developed as an anti-tumor drug, and its preclinical research is now underway.