Cytotoxic phenyl polyketides from N. Robson.

(±)-Hypecurvone A ( and B (, two new undescribed phenyl polyketides, along with seven known analogues (-) were isolated from the whole plant of . Chiral separation of and yielded two pairs of enantiomers / and /, respectively. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses and ECD spectra simulations. All isolates exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells, and compound also showed weak cytotoxicity toward MGC-803 cells. The cytotoxicity of these compounds was found to be related to enhanced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and inhibition of the G2/M phase of the cell cycle.