Four new chalcones from Erythrina abyssinioca

Four new chalcones 1-4, named abyssinones A-D, were isolated from the stem bark of the plant Erythrina abyssinica and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses. The compounds 1, 3, and 4 were found to exhibit moderate cytotoxic activity against the human colorectal cancer cell line (Caco2) with IC50 values of 13.3,15.1, and 11.1 mu M, respectively.