Annodienin and jahnonacin: New bioactive nontetrahydrofuran annonaceous acetogenins from the twigs of Annona jahnii

Annodienin (1) and jahnonacin (2), two new bioactive non-tetrahydrofuran Annonaceous acetogenins, have been isolated from the EtOH extract of the twigs of Annona jahnii Saff., using fractionation directed by brine shrimp lethality. These new compounds are unsaturated acetogenins and have a diol system. Compound 1 bears two double bonds in the aliphatic chain. The structures were elucidated by spectral analyses of the parent compounds and/or simple chemical derivatives, especially by employing H-1-NMR and 2D-NMR experiments. These acetogenins showed selective cytotoxicities, with potencies similar to adriamycin, among six human solid tumor cell lines.