Melognine, a novel monoterpenoid indole alkaloid from Melodinus fusiformis that induce apoptosis in BT549 cells

A novel monoterpenoid indole alkaloid, melognine (1) possessing an unprecedented skeleton with a 6/6/5/5/6/6 hexatomic rearranged ring system was isolated from the stems of Melodinus fusiformis. The structure with absolute configuration of 1 was established by extensive spectroscopic analyses and quantum ECD calculations. Melognine showed significant cytotoxicity on human breast cancer BT549 cells with an IC50 value of 1.49 mu M by MTT assay. Further mechanism of action study indicated that melognine demonstrated the ability to induce apoptosis by activation of caspase-3 and p53, and downregulation of Bcl-2 in BT549 cells.

Automated summary

Melognine, a novel monoterpenoid indole alkaloid isolated from the stems of Melodinus fusiformis, possesses a unique ring system and exhibits significant cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cells BT549. The mechanism of action involves activation of caspase-3 and p53, as well as downregulation of Bcl-2 to induce apoptosis in BT549 cells.