GA 2017

Despite the genus Rubia being researched to identify valuable commercial and medicinal virtues, Rubia philippinensis has rarely been investigated. In the present study, seventeen arborinane-type triterpenoids, including nine new compounds (1-9), were isolated from the underutilized plant species. Structures of new compounds were determined as 3-O-Acetylrubiarbonol L (1), 3-O-Acetylrubianol C (2), 28-Deoxyrubiarbonone E (3), 19-Dedihydrorubiarbonol B (4), 2-Deoxyrubianol F (5), 3-O-Acetylrubiarbonol B (6), 3-O-Acetylrubiarbonol A (7), 19-O-Acetylrubiarbonol B (8), and 19-O-Acetyl-28-deoxyrubiarbonone (9). The new chemical entities were assessed for their inhibitory potential on platelet derived growth factor-induced proliferation and the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. Treatment with 5 µM of compounds 5 (62.6 ± 10.7%) and 9 (41.1 ± 4.7%) impeded proliferation without exerting cytotoxicity. Compound 7, meanwhile, exhibited antimigration activity in a dose-dependent manner (38.5 ± 3.0% at 10 µM and 57.6 ± 3.2% at 30 µM, respectively). These results suggest that the arborinane-type triterpenoids may be a pertinent starting point for the development of cardiovascular drugs capable of preventing neointimal hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle cells.