Abstract

Five known compounds, four triterpenoids [(lup-20(30)-ene-3α,29-diol (1), lup-20(29)-ene-30-hydroxy-3-one-(2), Ψ – taraxastanonol 3, β-sitosterol 4] and 4’ –O- methylepigallocatechin  5  were isolated from Elaeodendron transvaalense bark ethanol extract. This plant is traditionally used in Southern Africa for the treatment of various ailments including sexually associated diseases.  Cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds was determined using XTT colorimetric assay against Vero and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. Compound 1, 3, 4, 5 showed weaker activities with the IC₅₀ ranging from 66.6 to over 100.00 μg/ml in both cell lines. Compound 2 exhibited a good cytotoxicity activity IC₅₀ value of 25.1 for Vero cells and 19.4 for breast cancer cell line.

Key words: Elaeodendron transvaalense, cytotoxicity and triterpenoid.