Antiproliferative activity of Pteleopsis suberosa leaf extract and its flavonoid components in human prostate carcinoma cells.

In this work we describe the chemical composition of Pteleopsis suberosa (Combretaceae) leaf extract and its biological activity against androgen-insensitive human prostate cancer cells (DU-145). The methanol extract of the plant leaves exhibited activity against tumor cell growth. Fractionation of this active extract led to the isolation and identification of sixteen flavonoids, including gallocatechin and flavonols having kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin as aglycones. Among the myricetin derivatives, myricetin 3-O-(3''-acetyl)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (1) and myricetin 3-O-(4''-acetyl)-alpha- L-arabinopyranoside (2) are now reported for the first time. Six compounds, myricetin 3-O-alpha- L-rhamnopyranoside (4), myricetin 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (7), myricetin 3-O-(6''-galloyl)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (9), myricetin 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside (10), myricetin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranoside (12), and gallocatechin (14), exhibited significant activity, reducing cell vitality and inducing apoptosis via the caspase-dependent pathway in DU-145 cells that can be, in part, correlated to modulation of redox-sensitive mechanisms.