Planta Med. 2003 Mar; 69(3): 271-4.

New cytotoxic triterpene acids from aboveground parts of Manihot esculenta from the Suriname rainforest.

Chaturvedula VS, Schilling JK, Malone S, Wisse JH, Werkhoven MC, Kingston DG.

Two novel triterpene acids, esculentoic acid A ( 1) and B ( 2) as well as the seven known compounds 3 - 9 were isolated from an EtOAc extract of leaves, stems, and twigs of Manihot esculenta by bioassay-guided fractionation for cytotoxic activity. The structures of the two new compounds were established as 3alpha-hydroxytaraxer-14-en-29-oic acid ( 1) and 3-oxotaraxer-14-en-29-oic acid ( 2) on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data interpretation and chemical conversions. The two new compounds 1 and 2 showed moderate cytotoxicity against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line.