Purification and identification of anticancer organosulfides from Ferula assa-foetida gum: integrative analysis employing GC/GC-MS/RP-HPLC/NMR

Abstract Ferula assa-foetida, containing organosulfides is widely used in Indian cuisine and traditionally claimed to have several medicinal properties including anticancer properties. Ferula oil enriched with organosulfides displayed significant inhibition of the cell growth in-vitro against SKOV3 and A549 cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. This prompted us to investigate and delineate the compounds responsible for the activity. In this endeavor, the employed GC/GC-MS analysis resulted in the indecisive outcome. This led to the development of an expedient isocratic RP-HPLC method for the separation and purification of four major compounds which were further unambiguously characterised as (-)-E-2-butyl propenyl disulfide, (-)-Z-2-butyl propenyl disulfide, (-)-1-(methylthio)propyl(E)-1-propenyl disulfide, and (-)-1-(methylthio)propyl(Z)-1-propenyl disulfide employing 1H, 13C, and 2 D NMR. The isolated compounds were further evaluated for their potential against SKOV3 and A549 cell lines where a trisulfide has displayed better activity. Graphical Abstract