Synthesis and biological activity of nitric oxide-releasing derivatives of ferulic acid as potential agents for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases.

In order to search for novel potential agents for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases (CKD), nitric oxide (NO)-releasing derivatives (5a-c) of ferulic acid were synthesized and characterized by MS, 1H NMR, and elementary analysis. They showed different NO-releasing rate in the absence or presence of L-cysteine in vitro. In the adenine induced CKD rats, these compounds revealed reno-protective effect via lowering blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) in serum and malondialdehyde (MDA) in kidney, increasing NO and superoxide dismutase (SOD) level in kidney. Among them, 3-methoxy-4-(nitrooxy)ethoxy cinnamic acid (5a) was confirmed to have a higher NO-releasing rate in vitro and better effect in ameliorating adenine-induced kidney damage in rats.

Antiproliferative activity of the total saponin of Solanum lyratum Thunb in Hela cells by inducing apoptosis.

Total saponin of Solanum lyratum Thunb (TSSLT), a species of natural biologically active substances isolated from Solanum lyratum Thunb, possesses various bioactivities. It has been proposed that the induction of apoptosis may be the basis of its antitumor activity. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the total saponin-induced apoptotic process remains unknown. In the present study, we describe the anti-proliferative effect of TSSLT on human cervical cancer cells (Hela). The TSSLT induced apoptosis of Hela in a time-dependent manner with an IC50 for cell viability of 6 microg/ml. The TSSLT-induced cell death was characterized by changes in cell morphology, DNA fragmentation, activation of caspase-like activities, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and release of cytochrome c (cyt c) into cytosol. TSSLT activated various caspases such as caspase-3, -8, and -9 (like) activities but not caspase-1 like activity. The cell death was completely prevented by the pan caspase inhibitor benzyloxy carbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp- fluoromethyl-ketone (Z-VAD-FMK). More than 80% cell survival was observed in the presence of a caspase-3 inhibitor. In addition, treatment with TSSLT induced the increase of Bax:Bcl-2 ratio in Hela cells. These results suggest that the induction of apoptosis by TSSLT involves multiple pathways antigen including death receptor and mitochondrial pathway and strongly suggest that the mitochondrial pathway was mediated by low expression of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax, release of cyt c and subsequent activation of caspase-3 followed by down stream events leading to apoptotic cell death.