Volume 69, Issue 5-6

A new clerodane diterpene derivative named crotonoligaketone was obtained from the stem bark of Croton oligandrum along with eight known compounds including crotonadiol, imbricatadiol, crotonzambefuran B, 7-acetoxytrachiloban-18-oic acid, 3-O-acetylaleuritolic acid, lupeol, b-sitosterol, and stigmasterol. The structures of the isolated compounds were established on the basis of their spectral data and by comparison with those reported in the literature

Buddleja lindleyana is a medicinally important member of the family Loganiaceae distributed in Eastern China. The plant has been used in different traditional medications for the treatment of various diseases. Acacetin-7-rutinoside was isolated from the n-butanol fraction of fresh B. lindleyana leaves and found to be a new molluscicidal agent against the snail Oncomelania hupensis. The structure of acacetin-7-rutinoside was elucidated based on spectral data, including 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR

Three new acylated R 1 -barrigenol triterpene glycosides, 1 - 3, were isolated from the seeds of Pittosporum angustifolium Lodd. together with four known glycosides, 4 - 7, containing R 1 - and A 1 -barrigenol backbones. On the basis of spectroscopic, spectrometric, and chemical analyses the novel compounds were named pittangretosides N- P and established as 21ß-acetoxy- 22α-angeloyloxy- (1), 21ß-acetoxy-22α-(2-acetoxy-2-methylbutyroyloxy)- (2), and 21ß-(2-methylbutyroyloxy)- 22α-acetoxy-3ß-[b-D-glucopyranosyl- (1→2)]-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)]-[α- L-arabinofuranosyl-(1!4)]-ß-D-glucuronopyranosyloxyolean-12-ene-15α,16α,28-triol (3). Evaluation of the in vitro cytotoxicity against three tumour cell lines and one non-tumourigenic cell line revealed antiproliferative effects with IC 50 values in a range of 1:74 - 34:1 μM

Five flavones were isolated from Chrysanthemum coronarium L., four of which were isolated for the first time from the genus Chrysanthemum. Two were the flavonoid aglycones 5,7- dihydroxy-3,6,4’-trimethoxyflavone (1) and scutellarin-6,7-dimethyl ether (2). A new flavonoid glycoside, apigenin-7-O-[2’’(6’’’-O-b-ß-acetylglucopyranosyl)]-6’’-O-acetylglucopyranoside (3), along with two known ones, i. e. apigenin-7-O-(2’’-O-b-ß-glucopyranosyl)-b-ß-glucopyranoside (4) and 6-methoxy quercetin-7-O-b-ß-glucopyranoside (5), were identified. Structures were elucidated by NMR and MS. The therapeutic value of petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts, respectively, in rats suffering from hypercholesterolemia - as a consequence of high-fat diet - and hyperglycemia - as a consequence of hypercholesterolemia and low doses of streptozotocin - was investigated through determination of biochemical markers and histopathology. The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts showed remarkable results, followed by the petroleum ether extract

Re-investigation of the methanolic extract of Anisotes trisulcus (Forssk.) Nees aerial parts led to the isolation of two new tricyclic quinazoline alkaloids, 8-amino-7,8,9,11-tetrahydro-6H-pyrido[2,1-b]- quinazoline-2,6-diol (4) and 8-amino-3,6-dihydroxy-7,8,9-trihydro-6H-pyrido[2,1-b]quinazoline- 11-one (5), and two quaternary ammonium compounds, (dimethylamino)-N-(hydroxymethyl)-N,Ndimethyl methanaminium chloride (6) and N-[(carboxyamino)methyl]-N,N-dimethyl ethanaminium chloride (7), together with three known compounds, peganine (1), vasicinone (2), and anisotine (3). The structures of these compounds were established on the basis of physical, chemical, and spectral data (UV, IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR), as well as by comparison with authentic samples. GC-MS analysis of the fatty acid methyl esters and unsaponifiable matter revealed the presence of 46 fatty acids, 53 hydrocarbons, and 18 sterols. The different extracts were evaluated for their antihyperglycaemic activities. The MeOH, n-hexane, and EtOAc extracts exhibited a significant hypoglycaemic effect

The leaves and flowers of Verbascum species are used to treat respiratory disorders, haemorrhoids, rheumatic pain, and wounds as well as for the treatment of eczema and other types of inflammatory skin conditions in traditional Turkish medicine. We examined the effect of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Verbascum latisepalum Hub.-Mor. on the endothelium-dependent relaxation response in rat aortic rings which is mediated by nitric oxide (NO). Six fractions, A- F, were obtained from the methanolic extract through bioassay-guided fractionation procedures. The phenylethanoid glycoside verbascoside was isolated from fraction D and its structure elucidated by spectral techniques. The inhibitory effects of the extract, its fractions, and verbascoside on the acetylcholineinduced relaxation response in phenylephrine-precontracted aorta was examined in the absence and presence of L-arginine, a precursor in the synthesis of NO. The observation that the effects of the methanolic extract, of fraction D, and of verbascoside were reversed by L-arginine, indicates that verbascoside has an inhibitory effect on the synthesis of NO. This effect should be taken into consideration in view of the wide range of uses of Verbascum species in Turkish folk medicine

The effects of exogenous ascorbic acid (AsA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) on antioxidant enzyme activities [superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR)] and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and H 2 O 2 , as well as of endogenous AsA and GSH, in the chloroplasts of two rice cultivars, the salt-tolerant cultivar Pokkali and the salt-sensitive cultivar Peta, were investigated. Exogenous AsA and GSH enhanced SOD, APX, and GR activities, increased endogenous AsA and GSH contents, and reduced those of H 2 O 2 and MDA in the chloroplasts of both cultivars under salt stress (200 mM NaCl), but the effects were significantly more pronounced in cv. Pokkali. GSH acted more strongly than AsA on the plastidial reactive oxygen scavenging systems. These results indicated that exogenous AsA and GSH differentially enhanced salinity tolerance and alleviated salinity-induced damage in the two rice cultivars

Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to investigate the effect of ultrasonic treatment on b-carotene production by Blakeslea trispora. The optimized strategy involved exposing three-day-old mycelial cultures to ultrasonic treatment at a fixed frequency of 20 kHz, power of 491 W, treatment time of 3 min, working time of 3 s, and rest time of 5:8 s, repeated four times at a 24-h interval. Mycelium growth was not significantly promoted under ultrasonic stimulation; however, the glucose metabolism increased by about 10%, the average size of the aggregates significantly decreased, and the uptake rate of imidazole into cells was increased about 2.5-fold. After a 6-d culture, the technique produced 173 mg=L of b-carotene and 82 mg=L of lycopene, which represented an increase of nearly 40:7% and 52:7%, respectively, over the yields obtained in cultures without ultrasonic treatment

Microbial metabolism of danazol (17α-pregna-2,4-dien-20-yno[2,3-d]isoxazol-17ß-ol) by Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159 and Glyocladium viride ATCC 10097 afforded four metabolites. The isolated metabolites were identified by different spectroscopic techniques as 6ß- hydroxy danazol, which is a not yet reported danazol metabolite, 17ß-hydroxy-17α-pregn-4-en- 20-yn-3-one (ethisterone) and 17ß-hydroxy-2α-(hydroxymethyl)-17α-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one (2α- hydroxymethyl ethisterone), which represent the major danazol metabolites detected in human urine. The last metabolite, 6ß,17ß-dihydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-17α-pregna-1,4-dien-20-yn-3-one, is also a minor human metabolite, for which the NMR data are described here for the first time. The metabolites were isolated in quantities that allowed their use for direct comparison in routine doping analysis

Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. is an important medicinal plant in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Because of differences in the chemical composition, this species has been classified into two major chemotypes, i. e. the patchouliol-type and the pogostone-type; however, no quick and effective method is presently available for the precise identification of these two chemotypes. DNA barcoding, using a standardized DNA fragment, is a promising molecular diagnostic method for species identification. We have established a reliable and quick method for the identification of the P. cablin chemotypes. Of five potential barcodes [rbcL, psbA-trnH, rpoB, ITS (internal transcibed spacer), and ndhJ], tested among 103 samples, ITS was the best candidate, as comparative studies between patchouliol-type and pogostone-type P. cablin revealed that ITS had more variable regions among these five barcodes. We suggest that ITS can serve as the most suitable barcode for differentiating between the chemotypes of P. cablin

Farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS, EC 2.5.1.10) catalyzes the consecutive head-to-tail condensations of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) with dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) to form farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), a key precursor of sesquiterpenoids, triterpenoids, sterols, and farnesylated proteins. Here we report the molecular cloning and functional identification of a new full-length cDNA encoding FPPS from Ornithogalum saundersiae, a potential medicinal plant that produces a promising antitumour sterol glycoside, OSW-1. An 1327 bp long unigene with an open reading frame of 1044 bp was retrieved from the transcriptome sequencing of O. saundersiae. The full-length FPPS cDNA, designated OsaFPPS, was isolated from O. saundersiae with gene-specific primers. The resultant OsaFPPS encodes a 347-amino acids protein with a calculated molecular mass of 40;085:6 Da, and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.01. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that OsaFPPS belongs to the plant FPPS super-family. Expression of soluble OsaFPPS in E. coli was verified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot analysis. Functional analysis of the purified OsaFPPS protein was carried out using IPP and DMAPP as substrates, and the product was unambiguously determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses