1’-(S)-1’-Acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) isolated from the Malaysian ethno-medicinal plant Alpinia conchigera Griff. was investigated for its potential as an anticancer drug. In this communication, we describe the cytotoxic and apoptotic properties of ACA on five human tumour cell lines. Data from MTT cell viability assays indicated that ACA induced both time- and dose-dependent cytotoxicity on all tumour cell lines tested and had no adverse cytotoxic effects on normal cells. Total mortality of the entire tumour cell population was achieved within 30 hrs when treated with ACA at 40.0 µM concentration. Flow cytometric analysis for annexin-V and PI dual staining demonstrated that cell death occurred via apoptosis, followed by secondary necrosis. The apoptotic effects of ACA were confirmed via the DNA fragmentation assay, in which consistent laddering of genomic DNA was observed for all tumour cell lines after a 24 hrs post-treatment period at the IC₅₀ concentration of ACA. A cell cycle analysis using PI staining also demonstrated that ACA induced cell cycle arrest at the G₀/G₁ phase, corresponding to oral tumour cell lines. In conclusion, ACA exhibits enormous potential for future development as a chemotherapeutic drug against various malignancies.

Oral cancers although preventable, possess a low five-year survival rate which has remained unchanged over the past three decades. In an attempt to find a more safe, affordable and effective treatment option, we describe here the use of 1’S-1’-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA), a component of Malaysian ginger traditionally used for various medicinal purposes.

A new limonoid, pentandricine (1), along with three known limonoids, ceramicine B (2), 6-de(acetyloxy)-23-oxochisocheton (3), 6-de(acetyloxy)-23-oxo-7-O-deacetylchisocheton (4), have been isolated from the stembark of Chisocheton pentandrus. The chemical structures of the new compound were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. All of the compounds were tested for their cytotoxic effects against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Compounds 1–4 showed weak and no cytotoxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells with IC₅₀ values of 369.84, 150.86, 208.93 and 120.09 μM, respectively.