Centranthera grandiflore alleviates alcohol-induced oxidative stress and cell apoptosis.

Alcohol liver disease (ALD) has become a global threat to human health. It is associated with a wide range of liver diseases including alcohol fatty liver, steatosis, fibrosis and cirrhosis, and finally leads to liver cancer and even death. Centranthera grandiflora is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb commonly used to treat ALD, but no research about its mechanism is available. This study evaluated the hepatoprotective effect and mechanism of C. grandiflora against alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. We found that the ethanol extracts of C. grandiflora (CgW) alleviated the alcohol-induced liver injury, enhanced the levels of antioxidant enzymes, and reduced the amount of lipid peroxides. CgW also affected cell apoptosis by inhibiting the activity of Bax, cleaved-caspase 3 and cleaved-caspase 9, and increasing the activity of Bcl-2. In conclusion, the results showed that CgW can effectively improve ALD through alleviating oxidative stress and inhibiting cell apoptosis for the first time. This study suggested that C. grandiflora is a promising herbal medicine for ALD treatment.

Antiangiogenic activity of terpenoids from Euphorbia neriifolia Linn.

Angiogenesis is known to serve an important role in embryonic development, wound healing, tissue regeneration, and growth. Two new abietane-type diterpenoids (3, 5), a new lanosterol triterpenoid (8) and seven known compounds haven been isolated from the Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. The structures of all compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and comparing their NMR data with reported data. Furthermore, we found that compounds 6 and 9 had the antiangiogenic effects in vitro. They could inhibit HUVEC migration and microvessel sprouting in rat aortic rings. Moreover, compound 6 inhibited VEGFR and phosphorylation of Akt, but compound 9 only shown inhibitory effect on phosphorylation of Akt. Taken together, these results suggest that inhibition of VEGF signaling and downstream pathways may be responsible for the antiangiogenic activity of compounds 6 and 9.