Antiproliferative activity of ginnalin A isolated from Acer ginnala Maxim. against human and mouse neuroblastoma cell line

Phenolic-enriched extracts of various Acer plants (maples) were reported to show anticancer effects. Despite ginnalin A, which is considered as the major phenolic compound of maple, was firstly isolated from Acer ginnala Maxim., the contents of ginnalin A in different parts of A. ginnala have not been investigated. In this study, leaves, twigs and barks of A. ginnala were evaluated for ginnalin A levels as 219 mg/g, 143 mg/g, 110 mg/g dry weight, respectively. The antiproliferative effects of ginnalin A isolated from A. ginnala against human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y and mouse neuroblastoma cell line N18TG2 was elucidated for the first time. IC₅₀ values of ginnalin A against neuroblastoma cell lines were in the range of 70~150 μg/mL for 24~48h. The results from this study suggest that maple plants may have broader anticancer effects than we expect and various parts of maples can be used as effective sources of anticancer compounds.