Cytotoxic activity of compounds from Styrax obassia

Cancer is a major public health burden in both developed and developing countries. Plant-derived compounds have played an important role in the development of useful anti-cancer agents. The current study was designed to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of chemical compounds from the stem bark of Styrax obassia. Seven known compounds (1-7) were isolated and identified. Compound 2 exhibited cytotoxic activity against the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with an IC₅₀ of 27.9 μM, followed by the human cervical cancer cell line Hela with an IC₅₀ of 23.3 μM, and the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 with an IC₅₀ of 47.8 μM. Compound 7 exhibited cytotoxicity against Hela cells with an IC₅₀ of 16.8 μM, followed by MCF-7 cells with an IC₅₀ of 53.5 μM. This is the first study to investigate the significant anti-tumor properties of isolated compounds from the stem bark of S. obassia.