Antiproliferative constituents in Umbelliferae plants II. Screening for polyacetylenes in some Umbelliferae plants, and isolation of panaxynol and falcarindiol from the root of Heracleum moellendorffii.

Methanol extracts of 36 samples of 21 Umbelliferae plants were screened for polyacetylenic compounds using the ELISA for panaxytriol, and their antiproliferative activity was checked by MTT assay using the tumor cell lines MK-1, HeLa and B16F10. The presence of antiproliferative polyacetylenes was suggested in Angelica acutiloba (fruit), Anethum graveolens (root), Bupleurum rotundifolium (fruit), Carum carvi (fruit and root), Coriandrum sativum (fruit), Cryptotaenia japonica (leaf), Glehnia littoralis (fruit), Heracleum moellendorffii (root) and Torilis japonica (fruit). Panaxynol and falcarindiol were successfully isolated from the root of Heracleum moellendorffii as antiproliferative polyacetylenes.