Octadecyl p -Coumarates: Probable Anticancer Compounds of Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa

The anticancer property of Ipomoea carnea (Convolvulaceae) extractives has been reported by several workers, ^{1 -5} but the use of crude extractives of the plant in cancer therapy may be limited by the fact that the plant contains several toxic compounds. ⁶ Bioassay monitored isolation and characterization of active anticancer compounds from the plant have not yet been reported. However, bioassay monitored isolation of antifungal compounds from I. carnea Jacq. subsp. fistulosa (Mart. et Choisy) D. F. Austin and their characterization as a mixture of E and Z isomers of octadecyl p-coumarates (Figure 1) were reported for the first time from this institute. ⁷

Figure 1

E and Z isomers of octadecyl p-coumarates.

Inhibitory activity of octadecyl p-coumarate on calf deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase α and rat DNA polymerase β has been reported as a part of a study on selective inhibitors of mammalian DNA polymerases, ⁸ which are considered as a group of potentially useful cancer chemotherapeutic agents. ⁹ These findings indicate that octadecyl p-coumarates possess anticancer activity.

After the discovery of octadecyl p-coumarates in I. carnea subsp. fistulosa at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, ⁷ these compounds have been made commercially available by the following companies for research purposes.

1. ChemFaces. email: [e-mail].

2. BioCrick BioTech. email: [e-mail].

3. BOC Sciences. email: [e-mail].

4. BioBioPha Co. Ltd. email: [e-mail].

It is proposed that octadecyl p-coumarate may be investigated for possible anticancer activity.

A few suggestions while performing bioassay are given here. Since octadecyl p-coumarate is not water soluble, it has to be dissolved in a minimum amount of n-propanol and the solution has to be made up with water to obtain a uniform emulsion of the required concentration, taking care to see that the medium is 3% n-propanol in water. The control has to be maintained with 3% n-propanol in water.