New neolignans from the seeds of Myristica fragrans and their cytotoxic activities.

Three new dihydrobenzofuran neolignans, myticaganal A-C (1-3), along with five known compounds (4-8), were isolated from the seeds of Myristica fragrans. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. In vitro cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds against three human cancer cell lines (KB, oral cavity; MCF-7, breast cancer; and NCI-H187, small cell lung cancer) were evaluated. Neolignan 3 showed significant cytotoxicity against KB and NCI-H187 cell lines with IC50 values of 5.9 and 6.3 μM, respectively.