Abstract: To search for pharmacologically and structurally interesting substances from traditional Chinese medicines, we investigated the chemical compounds of Aconitum spicatum Stapf. Two new norditerpenoid alkaloids, namely spicatine A (compound 1) and spicatine B (compound 2), as well as 11 known norditerpenoid alkaloids were isolated from the CHCl3 portion of the 90% ethanol extract of the roots of A. spicatum. The structures of the alkaloids were characterized on the basis of their spectral data. One of the isolated compounds showed significant cytotoxic activities (IC50 values < 200 μmol/L) against the HL-60 cell line.(Author for correspondence.Tel: 0931 797 1396; Fax: 0931 797 1989; E-mail:gaolm@nwnu.edu.cn)

Key words: Aconitum spicatum, cytotoxic activity, norditerpenoid alkaloids, spicatine A, spicatine B.