Chemical Constituents of Hedyotis diffusa and Their Anti-Inflammatory Bioactivities.

Seven new anthraquinones with rare 2-isopropyldihydrofuran (1-3) and 2,2-dimethylpyrano (4-7) moieties together with thirty-four known compounds were isolated from the extracts of whole Hedyotis diffusa plants. Their structures were elucidated and established by various spectroscopic and spectrometric analytical methods. Among these isolates, selected compounds were examined for their anti-inflammatory activity. The results showed that rare substituted anthraquinones displayed potent inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging from 0.15 ± 0.01 to 5.52 ± 1.59 µM on the N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B (fMLP/CB)-induced superoxide anion generation and elastase release cellular models. Meanwhile, the proposed drug target of the active anthraquinone was studied by computer modeling. The binding affinity between the anti-inflammatory anthraquinone and elastase was evaluated by molecular docking. These results provided the scientific insight into the medicinal values of Hedyotis diffusa and vision of development as lead compounds.

Constituents from the Fruiting Bodies of Trametes cubensis and Trametes suaveolens in Vietnam and Their Anti-Inflammatory Bioactivity.

It is reported that various fungi have been used for medicine and edible foods. The tropical Trametes genus is popular and well-known in Vietnam for its health effects and bioactivities. In this study, the fruiting bodies of the edible fungi T. cubensis and T. suaveolens were collected in Vietnam. The preliminary bioactivity screening data indicated that the methanol extracts of the fruiting bodies of T. cubensis and T. suaveolens displayed significant inhibition of superoxide anion generation and elastase release in human neutrophils. Therefore, the isolation and characterization were performed on these two species by a combination of chromatographic methods and spectrometric analysis. In total, twenty-four compounds were identified, and among these (1-3) were characterized by 1D-, 2D-NMR, and HRMS analytical data. In addition, the anti-inflammatory potentials of some purified compounds were examined by the cellular model for the inhibition of superoxide anion generation and elastase release in human neutrophils. Among the isolated compounds, (5,14), and (19) displayed significant anti-inflammatory potential. As the results suggest, the extracts and isolated compounds from T. cubensis and T. suaveolens are potential candidates for the further development of new anti-inflammatory lead drugs or natural healthy foods.

Bioactive naphthoquinones and triterpenoids from the fruiting bodies of Taiwanofungus salmoneus.

Drug resistance of cancer cells stands for the major problem of the treatment failure for chemotherapy or target therapy. Overexpression of efflux pumps leading to multidrug resistance (MDR) is still an important issue needed to be solved. In the present study, Taiwanofungus salmoneus was selected as the topic and eleven undescribed constituents including four naphthoquinones salmonones A-D (1-4) and seven triterpenoids salmoneatins A-G (5-11), along with one chromanone (12) and two benzenoids (13 and 14) reported from the natural sources for the first time, as well as twenty-one known compounds were characterized. The structures of undescribed compounds were established by the spectroscopic and spectrometric analyses. In addition, the plausible biosynthetic mechanism of purified naphthoquinones was proposed and these compounds may be the excellent chemotaxonomic markers. Moreover, the isolates were evaluated for their P-gp inhibitory effects and the results showed that most of the examined compounds were effective. Among the tested compounds, 5, 10, 2,3-dimethoxy-5-(2',5'-dimethoxy-3',4'-methylenedioxyphenyl)-7-methyl-[1,4]naphthoquinone, zhankuic acid A methyl ester, and camphoratin F can reverse the resistance of paclitaxel or vincristine with the reversal folds in the range of 51093.3 and 259.5. These experimental data would initiate the possible development of Taiwanofungus salmoneus for the cancer therapy in the future.

Antiinflammatory triterpenoids from the fruiting bodies of Fomitopsis pinicola.

Twelve undescribed lanostane-type triterpenes, and twenty-two known triterpenes were isolated and identified from a medicinal bracket fungus Fomitopsis pinicola (Sw.) P. Karst. The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic and spectrometric analyses. The antiinflammatory potential of thirty-two triterpene compounds was evaluated using neutrophils as an assay model, and pinicolasin J was the most potent inhibitor of superoxide anion generation and elastase release, with IC50 values of 1.81 ± 0.44 and 2.50 ± 0.64 µM, respectively. This study provides scientific insight into the nutritional supplement value and medicinal development of Fomitopsis pinicola.

Secoiridoids from the Seed of Gonocaryum calleryanum and Their Inhibitory Potential on LPS-Induced Tumor Necrosis Factor and Nitric Oxide Production.

Three new secoiridoid constituents, goncarin A−C (1⁻3), and a new derivative, goncarin A monoacetate (4), along with two known lignins, pinoresinol (5) and paulownin (6), were isolated from the seed of Gonocaryum calleryanum (Baill.) Becc. The structures of the new metabolites were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis, particularly mass spectroscopy and 2D NMR (¹H⁻¹H COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY) spectroscopy. The aim of this study was to identify the anti-inflammatory effects of compounds 1⁻6 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage cell lines (RAW 264.7). Following stimulation with LPS, elevated levels of nitric oxide (NO) production were detected in RAW 264.7 cells; however, pretreatment with compounds 1⁻6 significantly inhibited the production of NO (around 40⁻80%, p < 0.01⁻0.05), by suppressing the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS). In addition, LPS-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production was significantly reduced by compounds 1⁻3 (25⁻40%, p < 0.01⁻0.05). These results suggested that compounds 1⁻3 may exert anti-inflammatory activity, and that compounds 1⁻3 may be considered a potential therapeutic for the treatment of inflammatory diseases associated with macrophage activation.