A phytochemical investigation of Physalis minima led to the isolation of six withanolides, including withanolide E (1), withaperuvin C (2), 4β-hydroxywithanolide E (3), 28-hydroxywithaperuvin C (4), physaperuvin G (5), and 4-deoxywithaperuvin (6). Their chemical structures were elucidated by 1 D-NMR and 2 D-NMR data, as well as comparison with the data reported in the literature. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against HepG2, SK-LU-1, and MCF7 cancer cell lines. As the obtained results, compounds 1 and 3 displayed the strongest cytotoxicity against HepG2, SK-LU-1, and MCF7 cell lines with IC50 value ranging from 0.051 ± 0.004 to 0.86 ± 0.09 μg/mL.
Keywords: Physalis minima; anti-cancer; cytotoxic activity; withanolide.