Five triterpene acids (1–5) were isolated from ethyl acetate extract of Docynia indica fruits. Their structures were determined to be pomolic acid (1), maslinic acid (2), ursolic acid (3), 23- hydroxyursolic acid (4) and euscaphic acid (5) by comparison of physicochemical, NMR and mass spectral data with those reported in the literatures. | Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology 56 (4A) (2018) 199-204 TRITERPENE ACIDS FROM DOCYNIA INDICA FRUITS AND THEIR CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY Le Xuan Duy1, 2, Tran Quoc Toan1, Do Huu Nghi1, 2, Le Tat Thanh1, Vu Dinh Hoang2, 3, Young Ho Kim4, Nguyen Manh Cuong1, 2, * 1 Institute of Natural Products Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Ha Noi, Viet Nam 2 Graduate University of Science and Technology, VAST, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Ha Noi, Viet Nam 3 School of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet road, Ha Noi, Viet Nam 4 College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea * Email: nmcuong_inpc@ Received: 22 August 2018; Accepted for publication: 6 October 2018 ABSTRACT Five triterpene acids (1–5) were isolated from ethyl acetate extract of Docynia indica fruits. Their structures were determined to be pomolic acid (1), maslinic acid (2), ursolic acid (3), 23hydroxyursolic acid (4) and euscaphic acid (5) by comparison of physicochemical, NMR and mass spectral data with those reported in the literatures. All triterpenes (1–5) were isolated for the first time from Docynia indica. Compounds 1–5 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity using MTT assay, of which compounds 3 (ursolic acid) and 4 (23-hydroxyursolic acid) showed cytotoxic activity against HeLa and Hep-G2 cancer cell lines. Keywords: Docinya indica, triterpene acids, cancer cell lines, cytotoxic activity. 1. INTRODUCTION Docynia indica (commonly called "Táo mèo" in Viet Nam), belonging to the Rosaceae family, is widely distributed in Viet Nam, India, Myanmar and some Southern provinces of China [1, 2]. In Viet Nam, D. indica grows mainly in the northern mountainous provinces such as Son La, Lai Chau, Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai [1]. The fruits of D. indica have been used in traditional remedies for the treatment of infectious diseases, digestive disorders, dyhypeslipidemia, and
