As part of our ongoing search for bioactive constituents of natural Korean medicinal resources, a bioassay-guided fractionation and chemical investigation of the MeOH extract of Raphanus sativus (Brassicaceae) seeds resulted in the isolation and identification of fifteen compounds, including a new phenolic compound. The structure of the new compound was determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and the Mosher's method. One of the compounds has been recently reported as a synthetic product. Some compounds showed moderate antiproliferative activities against the tumor cell lines A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT-15 with IC50 values in the range of 5.62 to 28.88 μM. Moreover, the anti-neuroinflammatory activities of the isolates were determined by measuring the nitric oxide (NO) levels in the medium using murine microglia BV-2 cells. With exception of one specific compound, all the others inhibited the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated NO production (IC50 values < 200 μM).

<p>Three new ursane triterpene saponins, together with twelve known ursane triterpenes were isolated from the stems of <italic>Firmiana simplex</italic>. The structures of the saponines were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical methods. The cytotoxic activity of all compounds was evaluated <italic>in vitro</italic> against lung adenocarcinoma (A549), ovarian cancer (SK-OV-3), skin melanoma (SK-MEL-2), and colon cancer (HCT-15) human cell lines, using a sulforhodamine (SRB) assay. 23-Hydroxyursolic acid showed cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines with IC₅₀ values ranging from 11.96 to 14.11 µM.</p>