Extraction, Purification, and Elucidation of Six Ginkgol Homologs from Ginkgo biloba Sarcotesta and Evaluation of Their Anticancer Activities

Ginkgols are active constituents from Ginkgo biloba L. (GB) and have pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial and antioxidant activities. In our previous report, only five ginkgols were separated. However, ginkgol C17:1 had two isomers, for which their separation, identification, and bioactivities have not yet been investigated. Hence, this research reports the successful isolation of six ginkgol homologs with alkyl substituents—C17:1-Δ(12), C15:1-Δ(8), C13:0, C17:2, C17:1-Δ(10), and C15:0—for the first time using HPLC. This was followed by the identification of their chemical structures using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet (UV), gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS), carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance ((13)C-NMR), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR) analysis. The results showed that two ginkgol isomers, C17:1-Δ(12) and C17:1-Δ(10), were obtained simultaneously from the ginkgol C17:1 mixture and identified entirely for the first time. That aside, the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed that the six ginkgol homologs possessed significant antiproliferation effects against HGC and HepG2 cells. Furthermore, the ginkgols with unsaturated side chains (C17:2, C15:1-Δ(8), C17:1-Δ(12), and C17:1-Δ(10)) exhibited more potent inhibitory effects than ginkgols with saturated side chains (C13:0, C15:0). In addition, unsaturated ginkgol C15:1-Δ(8) showed the most potent cytotoxicity on HepG2 and HGC cells, of which the half-maximal inhibition concentrations (IC(50)) were 18.84 ± 2.58 and 13.15 ± 2.91 μM, respectively. The IC(50) for HepG2 and HGC cells for the three unsaturated ginkgols (C17:1-Δ(10), C17:2 and C17:1-Δ(12)) were ~59.97, ~60.82, and ~68.97 μM for HepG2 and ~30.97, ~33.81, and ~34.55 μM for HGC cells, respectively. Comparing the ginkgols’ structure–activity relations, the findings revealed that the position and number of the double bonds of the ginkgols with 17 side chain carbons in length had no significant difference in anticancer activity.