Secondary metabolites from the stem bark of Litsea akoensis and their cytotoxic activity

[[abstract]]Six new butanolides, litseadioxanins A and B (1 and 2, resp.) bearing a 1,2-dioxane moiety, litseatrinolides A and B (3 and 4, resp.), and litseakolides D-1 and D-2 (5 and 6, resp.), were isolated from the stem bark of Litsea akoensis, together with six known compounds. The structures of the new compounds were characterized by in-depth NMR-spectroscopic and mass-spectrometric analyses. Butanolides 1-4, and a mixture of 6 and litsenolide E-2, and litsenolide B-1 were tested against human tumor cells, including MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma), NCI-H460 (non-small-cell lung cancer), and SF-268 (glioblastoma) cell lines. Among the tested compounds, litsenolide B-1 exhibited marginal cytotoxic activity against MCF-7, NCI-H460, and SF-268 cell lines in vitro