Peruranolides A–D, four new withanolides with potential antibacterial and cytotoxic activity from Physalis peruviana L.

Background: Many drugs for anti-tumour have been developed, nevertheless, seeking new anticancer drug is the focus of ongoing investigation. Withanolides have been reported to possess potent antiproliferative activity. Literature findings revealed that a diversity of withanolides were obtained from Physalis peruviana, however, the antitumor activity of these bioactive compounds is still unclear. Methods: The EtOAc fraction of P. peruviana were decolorized on Middle Chromatogram Isolated (MCI) Gel column, repeatedly subjected to column chromatography (CC) over sephadex LH-20, preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and silica gel to afford compounds. Their chemical structures of the new isolates were elucidated through analyzing spectroscopic and HRESIMS data. All these obtained metabolites were appraised for their potential antiproliferative activity against the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by MTT assay, and in vitro antibacterial activity of the isolated compounds (1–7) were evaluated against E. coli, B. cereus and S. aureus. Results: Four new withanolides, including one withaphysalin-type withanolide (peruranolide A, 1), two 13,14-seco-withaphysalins (peruranolides B–C, 2–3), as well as one normal withanolide (peruranolide D, 4), were purified and separated from P. peruviana L.. Compound 5 was discovered to exhibit potent cytotoxic effect with an IC50 value of 3.51 μM. In vitro antibacterial activities, compounds 1–7 had no obvious inhibitory activity against E. coli, but had moderate inhibitory activities against B. cereus and S. aureus. Conclusions: Our findings might offer valuable clues for the utilization of withanolides as lead compounds for antineoplastic or antibacterial drug development.