Band 66, Heft 9-10

The crude methanol extract of Jatropha curcas leaves exhibited activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacterium phlei, Candida albicans, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes but was inactive against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In a bioassay-directed fractionation, two new phorbins were isolated and analysed by spectroscopic methods. Isolate 1 was characterized as an analogue of pheophytin b with a phytyl moiety containing three double bonds which are at positions P2/P3, P6/P7, and P10/P11. Compound 2 was characterized as methyl pheophorbide a with 13 2 -OH and 17- and 17 1 -CH3 moieties. It is active against Serratia marcescens.

The genus Phyllanthus (family Euphorbiaceae) is considered one of the important medicinal and ornamental plants. A phytochemical analysis of the extracts was performed to search for the active ingredient. Results of the investigation of the hepatoprotective activity of Phyllanthus atropurpureus Boj. Hort. Maurit. revealed that the activities of alcoholic extracts of its aerial parts and roots were quite similar to those of silymarin. Both of them improve the parameters of CCl 4 -induced liver injury including serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase. Among the extracts tested, the root extract showed maximum activity compared to the aerial parts extract and to silymarin.

Graded concentrations (0.1 - 100 mg/mL reaction mixture) of the methanolic extract of the flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn., its water-soluble fraction as well as compounds isolated from this fraction were tested for their inhibitory effect on alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity in vitro. Both the methanolic extract and its water-soluble fraction showed significant inhibitory effects on the enzyme activity in vitro. On screening the activity of the compounds isolated from the water-soluble fraction, its high inhibitory activity was attributed to the presence of quercetin-7-O-galactoside which showed a high potent inhibition of the enzyme activity reaching 100% at 100 mg/mL reaction mixture. Phytochemical investigations of the water-soluble fraction were also carried out and afforded ten polyphenolic compounds including two new natural compounds, namely kaempferol- 7-O-[6´´´-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl-β-D-glucosyl-(1≙6)-β-D-glucopyranoside] and scutellarein-6- O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside-8-C-β-D-glucopyranoside). The chemical structure of the isolated compounds was elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral data.

Fractionation of a 70% ethanolic extract from twigs of Lindera obtusiloba BLUME (Japanese spicebush, Tohaku) yielded fi ve fractions of different polarity. The antifi brotic activity within the chloroform phase was best assessed by an in vitro bioassay using rat hepatic stellate cell (HSC) proliferation and their autocrine transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) expression as sensitive fi brosis-associated read out. Chromatography of the chloroform extract on Sephadex LH-20 or liquid-liquid extractions yielded a crystalline compound as an active principle, which was identifi ed from NMR and ESI-MS analyses, its melting point, and its optical rotation as (7S,7´R,8R,8´R)-3,4:3´,4´-bis(methylenedioxy)-7,9´:7´,9-diepoxy-lignane [(+)-episesamin]. X-Ray diffraction confi rmed the structure and provided, for the fi rst time, directly its absolute confi guration. (+)-Episesamin blocked proliferation and the profi brotic autocrine TGF-β expression HSC without signifi cant cytotoxicity.

The discovery of DNA topoisomerases has added a new dimension to the study of anticancer drugs. Bisbenzimidazole derivatives are important compounds known as DNA topoisomerase I inhibitors. In the present study, some symmetrical bisbenzimidazole derivatives were synthesized and investigated for their anticancer activity. Anticancer activity screening was applied on HT-29 (colon carcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast carcinoma) cell lines by investigation of cytotoxicity, analysis of DNA synthesis, and DNA fragmentation assays. One of the seven compounds tested showed signifi cant cytotoxicity in both cell lines and caused DNA degradation in the HT-29 cell line.

9-Methoxycamptothecin (MCPT) was found to have antitumour activities through topoisomerase inhibition. However, the type of cell death induced in the tumour cells treated with MCPT was not elucidated. In this study, MCPT and camptothecin were isolated from Nothapodytes foetida distributed in Hubei Province, China and identifi ed by NMR spectroscopy. MCPT was tested by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay using camptothecin as reference. Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide double staining and real-time PCR were also performed. The IC50 value was (0.385 ± 0.08) μM. The apoptosis rates increased from 9.5% to 17.27%, 30.14%, and 66.46% with an increase in MCPT concentrations from 0, 0.19, 0.38, to 0.95 μM, respectively. The ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 also increased from 1 to 1.61, 2.43, and 4.57, respectively. Bax and Bcl-2 are crucial to the mitochondria pathway. The results indicate that the mitochondria pathway may be involed in MCPT-induced murine sarcoma S180 apoptosis.

Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. has been used to treat several diseases including cancers in folk medicine. However, the mechanisms responsible for T. tschonoskii extract-induced apoptosis are not clear. This study was mainly undertaken to identify the major biochemical changes in a lung cancer cell line upon treatment with an T. tschonoskii extract (TTME), and to investigate the functional relationship between these changes. The n-butanol extract was used to evaluate the mechanism of induction of apoptosis in A549 human lung cancer cells and its effects on mitochondrial function and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The n-butanol extract of T. tschonoskii has cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and morphological effects on the lung cancer cell line. T. tschonoskii mainly leads to apoptosis of cancer cells with a concomitant increase in the release of cytochrome c and a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in a dose-dependent manner. A rapid increase in the level of intracellular ROS and an accumulation of cells in the G2/M and S phase of the cell cycle were also observed in treated cells. These observations suggest that the n-butanol extract of T. tschonoskii has promising anticancer activities, which could be useful in cancer treatment.

3 Auxins, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), are important in plant germination and growth, while physiological polyamines, such as putrescine, are involved in cell proliferation and differentiation, and their concentrations increase during germination. In this work, novel indole amides were synthesized in good yields by monoacylation of morpholine and unprotected symmetrical diamines with indole-3-carboxylic acid, a putative metabolite of IAA, possessing no auxin-like activity. These amides were tested for their effects on seed germination and growth of the radicles and shoots of Lactuca sativa (lettuce) and Allium cepa (onion) seedlings, at 100.0, 1.0, and 0.01 μM concentrations. Germination was generally stimulated, with the exception of amide , derived from morpholine, at 100 μM. On radicle and shoot growth, the effect of these compounds was predominantly inhibitory. Compound 3 was the best inhibitor of growth of lettuce and onion, at the highest concentration. Amides, such as propanil, among others, are described as having herbicidal activity

The green ciliate Paramecium bursaria contains several hundred symbiotic Chlorella species. We previously reported that symbiotic algal carbon fixation is enhanced by P. bursaria extracts and that the enhancing factor is a heat-stable, low-molecular-weight, water-soluble compound. To identify the factor, further experiments were carried out. The enhancing activity remained even when organic compounds in the extract were completely combusted at 700 °C, suggesting that the factor is an inorganic substance. Measurement of the major cations, K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ , by an electrode and titration of the extract resulted in concentrations of 0.90 mM, 0.55 mM, and 0.21 mM, respectively. To evaluate the effect of these cations, a mixture of the cations at the measured concentrations was prepared, and symbiotic algal carbon fixation was measured in the solution. The results demonstrated that the fixation was enhanced to the same extent as with the P. bursaria extract, and thus this mixture of K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ was concluded to be the carbon fixation-enhancing factor. There was no effect of the cation mixture on free-living C. vulgaris. Comparison of the cation concentrations of nonsymbiotic and symbiotic Paramecium extracts revealed that the concentrations of K + and Mg 2+ in nonsymbiotic Paramecium extracts were too low to enhance symbiotic algal carbon fixation, suggesting that symbiotic P. bursaria provide suitable cation conditions for photosynthesis to its symbiotic Chlorella.

To study the effects of mandelic acid (MA) on the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, the survival rate and behaviour of BPH fed on an artifi cial diet with different dosages of MA was observed. The survival rate of BPH decreased with the increase of the MA concentration and feeding time. In contrast to the control, the survival rate of BPH 72 h after feeding decreased signifi cantly. Electrical penetration graph (EPG) data indicated that MA absorbed by the rice plant from Kimura B solution signifi cantly affected the feeding behaviour of BPH. At the concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/ml, duration of the phloem ingestion of BPH decreased from 115.34 min (control) to 30.41, 7.63, and 0.36 min, respectively. Periods of xylem ingestion of MA-treated BPH were signifi cantly shorter than those of the control (50.44 min). Moreover, BPH spent more time walking around or being at rest on MA-treated rice plants, as well as in stylet activities. The GST (glutathione S-transferase) activity of BPH increased with the increasing MA concentration, while the GPX (glutathione peroxidases) activity did not change signifi cantly. The results indicate that MA has an antifeedant and insecticidal effect on BPH.

In vivo toxicity of monocrotophos on key metabolites and enzymes of the protein metabolism was investigated in important tissues of the freshwater fish Clarias batrachus. Fish were exposed to 1/10 and 1/20 of LC50 concentration for 28 days. After 28 days of exposure, some fish were transferred to monocrotophos-free water and kept in the same for 21 days (recovery period) in order to study the recovery response. Total protein, amino acid, and ammonia contents were decreased in gill, kidney, liver, and muscle tissues, and recovery was slight at the end of 21 days of transfer of fish into freshwater. Urea and glutamine levels were elevated, except in kidneys, and recovered at the end of the recovery period. The activities of protease, transaminase, and phosphatase enzymes were elevated in all tissues during 28 days of exposure and at both concentrations. Recovery of the activity of enzymes was more significant at the lower concentration as compared to the higher concentration.

The growth inhibition of 12 native marine bacteria isolated from Aplysina sponge surfaces, the shell of a bivalve, and Phytagel™ immersed for 48 h in sea water were used as indicator of the antifouling activity of the extracts of 39 marine organisms (octocorals, sponges, algae, and zoanthid) collected in the Colombian Caribbean Sea and on the Brazilian coast (Santa Catarina). Gram-negative bacteria represented 75% of the isolates; identified strains belonged to Oceanobacillus iheyensis, Ochrobactrum pseudogrignonense, Vibrio campbellii, Vibrio harveyi, and Bacillus megaterium species and seven strains were classified at genus level by the 16S rRNA sequencing method. The extracts of the octocorals Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, four Eunicea octocorals, and the sponges Topsentia ophiraphidites, Agelas citrina, Neopetrosia carbonaria, Monanchora arbuscula, Cliona tenuis, Iotrochota imminuta, and Ptilocaulis walpersii were the most active, thus suggesting those species as antifoulant producers. This is the first study of natural antifoulants from marine organisms collected on the Colombian and Brazilian coasts.

We discovered that extracts of the female sex pheromone gland of the carpenterworm moth Isoceras sibirica Alpheraky, a pest of Asparagus offi cinalis Linn., contained (Z)-7- tetra decen-1-ol (Z7 - 14:OH), (Z)-9-tetradecen-1-ol (Z9 - 14:OH), (Z)-7-tetradecenyl acetate (Z7 - 14:Ac), (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9 - 14:Ac), and (Z)-9-hexadecadecenyl acetate (Z9 - 16:Ac). The average levels of the chemicals in a single sex pheromone gland of a calling moth were (0.71 ± 0.24) ng, (1.42 ± 0.44) ng, (4.36 ± 0.32) ng, (8.71 ± 0.26) ng, and (0.82 ± 0.38) ng, respectively. The electroantennography (EAG) analysis of these chemicals and their analogues demonstrated that Z9 - 14:Ac triggered signifi cantly the male EAG response. Traps with rubber septa lure impregnated with Z9 - 14:Ac (500 μg/septum), Z7 - 14:Ac (250 μg/septum), and Z9 - 16:Ac (50 μg/septum) were more effective in catching male moths than traps with other baits or virgin females. Addition of Z7 - 14:OH and Z9 - 14:OH to rubber septa did not enhance the effi ciency of the trap.