Morierinin: a new cytotoxic cucurbitacin from the leaves of Morierina montana Vieill.

An extract of the leaves of Morierina montana collected in New Caledonia was found to be cytotoxic for KB cells. A bioassay-guided fractionation procedure led to the isolation of a series of cucurbitacins of which one, morierinin (1), is new. The isolation and structure elucidation of 1 are described.