Phytochemical Study of the Genus Salpichroa (Solanaceae), Chemotaxonomic Considerations, and Biological Evaluation in Prostate and Breast Cancer Cells

Twelve Salpichroa taxa have been phytochemically analyzed. From the aerial parts of S .  scandens , four known salpichrolides A, C, I, S, and an unreported withanolide named salpichrolide V ( 1 ), were isolated. In S .  dependens , S .  gayi , S .  glandulosa subsp. glandulosa , S .  glandulosa subps. weddellii , S .  leucantha , S .  micrantha , S .  microloba , S .  proboscidea , S .  ramosissima , S .  tristis var. tristis , and S .  weberbauerii , no withanolides were found. The chemical content of ca . 85% of the Salpichroa taxa is in agreement with molecular studies, which suggest that Salpichroa and Jaborosa , a genus considered morphologically close to Salpichroa , are distant in the systematic of the Solanoideae subfamily. Moreover, the in vitro cytotoxic activity of a set of natural salpichrolides and derivatives was examined against two prostate carcinoma cell lines ( PC 3 and LNC aP) and two human breast cancer cell lines ( MCF ‐7 and T47D). Several compounds showed moderate activity ( IC 50  = 64.91 – 29.97 μ m ).