Isolation, structural elucidation and cytotoxic activity of tricin, a natural occurring flavone from CaucaŽs Valley sugarcane.

The Sugarcane can be considered as the most representative crop in the Cauca Valley region southeast of Colombia. The metabolic diversity of this plant makes it suitable as input for several industrial processes, such as ethanol and sugar production. Thus, sugarcane industry is one of the pillars of the local economy. The study and identification of metabolites present in sugarcane opens a new perspective towards the development of new products with potential pharmaceutical and nutritional value. Through the optimization of the sugarcane exploitation, the CaucaŽs Valley economic development would be enhanced. Previous studies have shown that sugar cane is a potential source of flavonoids, mainly in the C-glycoside form1-5. These compounds have special value inside the food and pharmaceutical industries because of their antioxidant properties. The main objective of this project is to achieve the structural determination of some of these metabolites produced by the CaucaŽs Valley sugarcane, by using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and LC-MS spectrometry. The study resulted in the full characterization of tricin, a natural occurring flavone which is regarded as a potential therapeutical agent for colorectal cancer treatment.