Chemical constituents and cytotoxic activity of ethyl acetate extract from celery root
Apium graveolens L. is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant in the family Apiaceae. There are various cultivated varieties such as celery and dry celery, with dry celery being the most commonly used for medicinal purposes. At present, research on the chemical composition of celery at home and abroad mainly focuses on the stems and leaves of the aboveground parts, and various active ingredients including flavonoids, terpenes, and coumarins have been isolated and identified from them. However, there is little research on its underground parts, especially the roots. Although there are many folk remedies for treating diseases with dried celery and vegetable roots, they lack scientific theoretical basis. The research team hopes to reveal the pharmacological substance basis of celery and cauliflower roots through in-depth systematic study of their chemical components. Three compounds have been isolated and identified from the roots of celery in previous studies. In this study, the chemical components of the ethyl acetate fraction were further isolated and purified, and the cytotoxic activity of the isolated monomers was tested, providing a scientific basis for the development and utilization of celery roots.

 

This article isolated and identified 9 compounds, including glycosides, coumarins, flavonoids, phthalates, and other compounds, from the ethyl acetate extract of industrial alcohol extract from celery roots. Compounds 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 were isolated from this genus of plants for the first time. Compounds 1-9 were tested for their cytotoxic activity against three types of tumors, and the results showed that compound 4 exhibited varying degrees of cytotoxic activity against all three types of tumor cells. Compound 4 exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against human lung cancer cell line A549, with an IC50 value of 6.68 μ mol/L. It is reported that compound 4 also has good cytotoxicity to human breast cancer cell MCF and hepatoma cell HepG2, with IC50 values of 8.58 and 4.76 μ mol/L, respectively. Therefore, compound 4 may be a potential active ingredient in the anticancer drug of celery root, and its mechanism of action and in vivo efficacy still need further in-depth research.