Glaziovianin A, a new isoflavone, from the leaves of Ateleia glazioviana and its cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells.

A new isoflavone, named glaziovianin A (1), was isolated from the leaves of Ateleia glazioviana (Legminosae) by means of a cytotoxicity-guided fractionation procedure against HL-60 leukemia cells. The chemical structure of 1 was determined by analysis of its extensive spectroscopic data. Glaziovianin A (1) displayed differential cytotoxicities in the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research 39 cell line panel assay. The pattern of the differential cytotoxicities of 1 was found to correlate to that shown by TZT-1027, suggesting that 1 inhibited tubulin polymerization as an action mechanism. Although 1 had little influence on microtubule networks in interphase cells, 1-treated cells showed abnormal structures with unaligned chromosomes.