Phytochemical investigation from carnauba (Copernicia prunifera) wax led to the identification of sixteen dammarane-type triterpenes, including thirteen new characterized as: (24R*)-methyldammara-20,25-dien-3α-ol and a mixture of alkyl (24R*)-methyldammar-25-en-20-ol-3β-carboxylates, together with three previously described triterpenes: carnaubadiol, (24R*)-methyldammara-20,25-dien-3β-ol and (24R*)-24-methyldammara-20,25-dien-3-one. Moreover, four fatty alcohols (eicosanol, docosanol, tetracosanol and hexacosanol) as well as four sterols (cholesterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol) were also obtained. These compounds were isolated using classical chromatographic methods and their structures were determined by spectroscopic and chemical methods.

<p>A new clerodane-type diterpene, named dinor casearin X, and four known casearins (A, B, G and J) were isolated from leaves of <italic>Casearia sylvestris</italic>(Salicaceae). These compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against five human cancer cell lines (A2058, HL-60, HCT, MCF-7 and HeLa) as well as against a murine melanoma cell line (B16F10-Nex2). Among these compounds, dinor casearin X exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity against HL-60 cells with IC₅₀ of 0.51 ± 0.11 µg mL^-1, whereas casearin A exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity against HCT cells (IC₅₀ 1.84 ± 0.14 µg mL^-1).</p>

The present study aimed to investigate the presence of compounds with antitumor activity in the plant Caesalpinia pluviosa var. peltophoroides. From bioactivity guided studies it was possible to isolate a new biflavonoid, named caesalpinioflavone, whose chemical structure was determined by spectroscopic (1H and 13C nucler magnetic ressonace, homonuclear correlation spectroscopy and heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation spectroscopy) and spectrometric (high resolution electrospray ionization mass) methods. According to in vitro assays, caesalpinioflavone was effective in reducing the cell viability of tumor cell lines A549, MCF7, Hst578T and HTC. This effect was consequent of cell cycle arrest in G1/S transition (A549 and MCF7) and cytotoxic activity (Hs578T and HTC). Taken together, these data indicate that caesalpinioflavone has a promising antitumor activity.

Conchocarpus fontanesianus (A. St.-Hill.) Kallunki & Pirani, Rutaceae, popularly known as pitaguará, is a native and endemic tree from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States, Brazil. Based in the information that anticholinesterasic derivatives could act as new prototypes to treatment of Alzheimer disease, this work describes the fractionation guided by evaluation of the anticholinesterase activity of the ethanolic stems extract from C. fontanesianus. This procedure afforded the alkaloids dictamnine (1), γ-fagarine (2), skimianine (3), and 2-phenyl-1-methyl-4-quinolone (4), as well as the coumarin marmesin (5).