Two new asterosaponins, archasterosides A and B, from the Vietnamese starfish Archaster typicus and their anticancer properties

New asterosaponins archasterosides A (1), B (2), and the known regularoside A (3) were isolated from the Vietnamese starfish Archaster typicus and structurally elucidated by extensive NMR techniques and chemical transformations. Compounds 1-3 showed moderate cytotoxic activities against HeLa and mouse JB6 P⁺ Cl41 cell lines. The most active, 2, induced basal AP-1- and p53-, but not NF-κB-transcriptional activations in JB6 Cl41 cells.