Pentacyclic triterpenoids from spikes of Prunella vulgaris L. with thyroid tumour cell cytostatic bioactivities.

Five new triterpenoids, including four ursane types ( 1 - 4 ) and one oleanane type ( 5 ), together with 15 known ursane types pentacyclic triterpenoids ( 6 - 20 ) were isolated from the fruit spikes of Prunella vulgaris L., a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Their structures were elucidated based on IR, HR-ESI-MS, and NMR spectroscopic data. The SW579 cell line was used to evaluate anti-thyroid cancer activities of ( 1 - 20) . The results indicated that ( 7 - 9) , ( 16), and ( 19) exhibited apparent inhibitory activity with IC 50 values of 25.73-71.41 μM (cisplatin as positive control, IC 50 14.49 ± 0.97 μM). Network pharmacology and molecular docking were also used for the prediction of the synergistic actions and the underlying mechanisms. Accordingly, four potential targets have been characterized.