Plant antitumor agents. 31. The calycopterones, a new class of biflavonoids with novel cytotoxicity in a diverse panel of human tumor cell lines.

Three new biflavonoids to which we have accorded the trivial names calycopterone (1), isocalycopterone (2), and 4-demethylcalycopterone (3) and the known flavone 4',5-dihydroxy-3,3',6,7-tetramethoxyflavone (4) were isolated as cytotoxic constituents from the flowers of Calycopteris floribunda Lamk. (Combretaceae). Compounds 1-3 showed a wide range of activity against a panel of solid tumor cell lines. Among the biflavonoids, calycopterone (1) is the major constituent.