Isolation and absolute configuration of alkylpyridine alkaloids from the marine sponge Hippospongia lachne.

Marine sponges are well known as prolific producers of structurally diverse molecules with valuable pharmacological potential. As part of our ongoing program to discover bioactive compounds from marine sponges collected from the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, a chemical study on the specimens of Hippospongia lachne was conducted. As a result, eight undescribed compounds, including four zwitterionic alkylpyridinium salts, hippospondines A-D (1-4), and four 3-alkylpyridine alkaloids, hippospondines E (5), F (6), and (±)-hippospondine G (7), were isolated from the marine sponge H. lachne, together with one known 3-alkylpyridine alkaloid (8). The undescribed structures were elucidated by HRESIMS, NMR, DP4+ and CP3 probability analysis, and the Snatzke's method. Hippospondines A-D (1-4) represent the rare example of inner salt type alkylpyridinium alkaloid with a farnesyl moiety. Compounds 1-3 and 8 were subjected to cytotoxic and lymphocyte proliferation assays. Compound 3 exhibited a weak promotion effect on the ConA-induced T lymphocyte proliferation.

Hipposponols A and B, two new 9, 11-secosterols from the marine sponge Hippospongia lachne de Laubenfels.

Two new 9,11-secosterols, hipposponols A (1) and B (2), together with five known analogues, aplidiasterol B (3), (3ß,5α,6ß)-3,5,6-triol-cholest-7-ene (4), (3ß,5α,6ß,22E)-3,5,6-triol-ergosta-7,22-diene (5), and one pair of inseparable C-24 epimers of (3ß,5α,6ß,22E)-3,5,6-triol-stigmasta-7,22-diene (6/7), were isolated from the marine sponge Hippospongia lachne de Laubenfels. The structures of isolated compounds were extensively elucidated based on HRESIMS and NMR data. Compounds 2 - 5 showed cytotoxicity against PC9 cells with IC50 values ranging from 34.1 ± 0.9 to 38.9 ± 1.0 µM and compound 4 displayed cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells with IC50 value of 39.0 ± 0.4 µM.

By-Products of Zea mays L.: A Promising Source of Medicinal Properties with Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activities: A Comprehensive Review.

Zea mays (Z. mays) is one of the main cereal crops in the world, and it's by-products have exhibited medicinal properties to explore. This article intends to review the chemical compositions and pharmacological activities of by-products of Z. mays (corn silks, roots, bract, stems, bran, and leaves) which support the therapeutic potential in the treatment of different diseases, with emphasis on the natural occurring compounds and detailed pharmacological developments. Based on this review, 231 natural compounds are presented. Among them, flavonoids, terpenes, phenylpropanoids, and alkaloids are the most frequently reported. The by-products of Z. mays possess diuretic effects, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, plant protection activity, and other activities. This article reviewed the phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of Z. mays for comprehensive quality control and the safety and effectiveness to enhance future application.

Verniciflavanol A, a profisetinidin-type-4-arylflavan-3-ol from toxicodendron vernicifluum protects SH-SY5Y cells against H2O2-Induced oxidative stress.

Eleven undescribed derivatives of flavan, including flavan-3,4-diols vernicinosides A-H and profisetinidin-type-4-arylflavan-3-ols verniciflavanols A-C, together with eight known compounds were purified from the heartwood of Toxicodendron vernicifluum. The chemical structures of the undescribed compounds were characterized by spectroscopic data interpretation, including NMR (1H and 13C NMR HSQC and HMBC) and HRESIMS analysis. CD data analysis was conducted to assign the absolute configurations of the undescribed compounds and the active compound verniciflavanol A was also confirmed by ECD experiment. The absolute configuration of the sugar moiety was identified by GC analysis of chiral derivatives in the hydrolysate. MTT assay was applied to test these compounds against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Results found that verniciflavanol A demonstrated the best potential in protecting SH-SY5Y cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress by inhibiting cell apoptosis and attenuate reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and mitochondrial dysfunction. And the underlying mechanism was confirmed to be associated with Nrf2-antioxidant response element signaling and IL-6 cell survival pathways.

A comprehensive review on ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of Rhus chinensis Mill.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Rhus chinensis Mill., firstly recorded as herbal medicine in Shan Hai Jing, have been used for thousands of years to treat various diseases. AIM OF THIS REVIEW: This review targets on the ethnomedicinal applications of R. chinensis and to gather the phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological data which support the therapeutic potential of R. chinensis in treatment on different diseases, with emphasis on the naturally occurring compounds and detailed pharmacological developments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The information of R. chinensis was collected based on a variety of popular databases such as Scifinder, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Springer, Wiley, ACS, CNKI, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar and other published materials (books and Ph.D. and M. Sc. Dissertations). The keywords "Rhus chinensis", "Rhus amela", "Rhus javanica", "Rhus osbeckii", "Rhus semialata", and "Schinus indicus" were applied to search the literature related in this review. RESULTS: 152 natural compounds of R. chinensis belong to different classes are presented in this review, including flavonoids, lignans, coumarins, simple phenolics, urushiols, tannins, triterpenoids, steroids and other types of constituents. Among them, flavonoids, lignans, and triterpenoids are most frequently reported components. The pharmacological effects of R. chinensis were numerous and complicated, including anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-diarrheal, hepatoprotective, anti-proliferation, enzyme-inhibiting, anti-oxidants and so on. CONCLUSION: In order to discover more compounds with novel structures to both enrich chemical context of genus Rhus and expand the variety of constituents, the phytochemical research is urgent and indispensable. Anti-diarrhea, the most widely application of R. chinensis traditionally, is insufficient in underlying mechanism exploration. And for other activities, in-depth studies on the mechanism of pharmacological effects in vivo and in vitro are both needed. Meanwhile, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, quality control and preclinical and clinical data are urgent to assess the rationale and safety of the medicinal and food application of R. chinensis.

Molecular mechanism of mice gastric oxidative damage induced by nanoparticulate titanium dioxide.

BACKGROUND: Nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (Nano-TiO2) has been widely used in food industry, and it has been demonstrated to have adverse effects on mice and human stomach, but its mechanism is rarely concerned. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of nano-TiO2 on the stomach and confirm the role of oxidative stress and apoptosis in the mice gastric damage caused by nano-TiO2, as well as its molecular mechanisms. METHODS: Mice were continuously exposed to nano-TiO2 with 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg bw by intragastric administration for 9 months in the present study. The ultrastructure, levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and peroxides, activities of antioxidant enzymes and mitochondria-related enzymes, ATP contents as well as apoptosis-related factors expression in mice stomach were examined. RESULTS: Oxidative stress, apoptosis and nano-TiO2 aggregation were found in gastric mucosal smooth muscle cells after nano-TiO2 exposure. Nano-TiO2 exposure also resulted in the over-production of ROS and peroxides, decrease of ATP production and activities of antioxidant enzymes and mitochondria-related ATPases, upregulation of apoptosis-related factors including γH2AX, Cyt c, caspase 3, and p-JNK expression, and down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression in mice stomach. CONCLUSIONS: The gastric toxicity of mice induced by chronic exposure to low dose nano-TiO2 may be associated with oxidative stress and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in mice.

Molecular mechanisms associated with oxidative damage in the mouse testis induced by LaCl3.

China is the world's largest rare earth producer and exporter, previous studies have shown that rare earth elements can cause oxidative damage in animal testis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these observations have yet to be elucidated. In this paper, male mice were fed with different doses (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg BW) of LaCl3 for 90 consecutive days, regulatory role of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf-2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway in testicular oxidative stress induced by LaCl3 were investigated. Analysis showed that LaCl3 exposure could lead to severe testicular pathological changes and apoptosis in spermatogenic cells, it up-regulated the peroxidation of lipids, proteins and DNA, and induced the excessive levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mouse testis, reduced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione S epoxide transferase (GST) as well as the glutathione (GSH) content. Furthermore, exposure to LaCl3 also downregulated the expression of Nrf2 and its target gene products, including heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinine] 1(NQO1), protein kinase C (PKC), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), but upregulated the expression of Kelch-like ECH-related protein 1 (Keap1) in damaged mouse testes. Collectively, our data imply that the oxidative damage induced by LaCl3 in testis was related to inhibition of the Nrf-2/AREs pathway activation.

Epidemiology and persistence of cervical human papillomavirus infection among outpatient women in Heilongjiang province: A retrospective cohort study.

As persistent carcinogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a prominent driver of cervical cancer, it is essential to explore HPV persistence and its associated factors for cancer screening and prevention. A retrospective cohort study was performed in outpatient women between March 2010 and 2019 in Heilongjiang, northeast China. HPV genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction-membrane hybridization. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the association of factors with persistence. The overall prevalence of HPV at baseline was 27.1%, with a downward trend from 2010 to 2019 (P < .0001). The most commonly observed high- and low-risk HPVs were HPV16 (N = 1094, 5.9%) and HPV11 (N = 596, 3.2%), respectively. The probabilities of 6-month persistence were high for women infected with HPV16 (P = .0001), HPV58 (P = .018), and HPV53 (P = .014), as well as for women with multiple infections (P = .009), and those who were 51 to 60 years old (P = .004) or more than 60 years old (P = .007). The probabilities of 12-month persistence were high for women infected with HPV53 (P = .017) and 51- to 60-year-old women (P = .044). HPV16 is the dominant HPV type in Heilongjiang. An age in the range of 51 to 60 years and infection with HPV53 is associated with HPV infection persistence in the Heilongjiang population.