A novel diarylheptanoid-bearing sesquiterpene moiety from the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum

Abstract A new diarylheptanoid analogue-bearing sesquiterpene moiety, named Alpinisin A, was isolated from the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum Hance. The new structure was determined by various spectroscopic techniques 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), 13C-attached proton test (13C-APT), heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC), 1H-1H correlation spectroscopy (1H–1HCOSY), nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR–ESI–MS). The compound was tested for cytotoxic activity in vitro against human tumour cell lines (gastric carcinoma cell -7901 (SGC-7901), Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and Caski), which showed significant inhibitory effects with IC50 levels of 11.42, 15.14 and 14.78 μM, respectively. The novel chemical structure characterised with a diarylheptanoid linked to a chain-like sesquiterpenoid should be highlighted.