Estrogenic and anti-neutrophilic inflammatory phenanthrenes from Juncus effusus L.

Juncus effusus L. (J. effusus) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has long been used for dealing with gynaecological disorders, such as relieving insomnia, preventing tinnitus, reducing edema with diuretic effect. In our course of evidence-based medical research focused on this herb, one new phenanthrene, Junfusol B (2), together with seventeen known compounds were isolated and identified. All the structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The absolute stereochemistry of compounds 1 and 2 was further determined by comparing their calculated and experimental Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectra and optical rotation (OR) values. The isolates were evaluated for their estrogenic and anti-inflammatory activities which were considered as relevant etiological factors of insomnia, tinnitus and edema in the ancient TCM theory. The results revealed that most of the obtained phenanthrenes in this work were found exerting agonistic effects on estrogen receptor. This is the first report to declare the exact estrogen-regulating potential among this type of compounds from J. effusus. Moreover, phenanthrenes 3 - 7 exhibited significant inhibitions on superoxide anion generation and elastase release in fMLP/CB-induced human neutrophilic inflammation model. J. effusus may be developed as a complementary agent utilized in menopausal multiple syndromes.

The Antioxidant from Ethanolic Extract of Rosa cymosa Fruits Activates Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog In Vitro and In Vivo: A New Insight on Its Antileukemic Effect.

Rosa cymosa Tratt is a Chinese herbal remedy that is used in the treatment of diarrhea, burns, rheumatoid arthritis, and hemorrhage. Despite its use in Asian folk medicine, there are limited reports on the biological activity of R. cymosa fruits. This study focused on the investigation of the antitumor effect of the antioxidative ethanolic extract of R. cymosa fruits (RCE) along with its underlying mechanism of action. RCE showed a potent cytotoxic effect against Sup-T1 and Molt-4 lymphoblastic leukemia cells. In the xenograft animal model, the tumor size was significantly reduced to about 59.42% in the RCE-treated group in comparison with the control group. The use of RCE (37.5, 75, or 150 µg/mL) triggered apoptosis by 26.52-83.49%, disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) by 10.44-58.60%, and promoted calcium release by 1.29-, 1.44-, and 1.71-fold compared with the control group. The extract induced redox oxygen species (ROS) generation through the elimination of Nrf2/Keap1/P62-mediated oxidative stress response. The loss of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) activation by RCE impaired PI3K/Akt/Foxo and Jak/Stat activation pathways, which contributed to tumorigenesis. These multiple targets of R. cymosa against hematologic cancer cells suggested its potential application as an antileukemic dietary supplement.

Two Transcutaneous Stimulation Techniques in Shoulder Pain: Transcutaneous Pulsed Radiofrequency (TPRF) versus Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS): A Comparative Pilot Study.

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of 2 transcutaneous stimulation techniques, transcutaneous pulsed radiofrequency (TPRF) versus transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), in chronic shoulder tendonitis. Design: A prospective, randomized, and double-blind clinical trial. Setting: Academic pain service of a city hospital. Subjects: Fifty patients with sonography-confirmed shoulder tendonitis. Methods: Fifty patients were randomly allocated into two groups for electrical stimulation treatment with 3-month follow-ups: Group 1 (n=25), TENS and Group 2 (n=25), TPRF. Both groups underwent either treatment for 15 minutes every other day, three times total. Our primary goals were to find any treatment comfort level, adverse event, and changes in Constant-Murley shoulder (CMS) scores. The secondary goals were finding the changes in pain, enjoyment of life, and general activity (PEG) scores. Results: For primary goals, no adverse events were noted throughout this study. No differences were found between groups for treatment tolerability (3.20 + 0.87 vs. 2.16 + 0.75). Statistically significant lower PEG scores were noticeable with the TPRF group after the course (12.73 + 5.79 vs. 24.53 + 10.21, p=0.013). Their statistical significance lasted for 3 months although the difference gap diminished after 1 month. CMS scores were significantly higher in the TPRF group (70.84 + 6.74 vs. 59.56 + 9.49, p=0.007) right after treatment course but the significance did not last. Conclusions: In treating chronic shoulder tendinitis using two transcutaneous stimulation techniques, both TPRF and TENS are safe and effective. TPRF is superior to TENS.

Antiallergic Phorbol Ester from the Seeds of Aquilaria malaccensis.

The Aquilaria malaccensis (Thymelaeaceae) tree is a source of precious fragrant resin, called agarwood, which is widely used in traditional medicines in East Asia against diseases such as asthma. In our continuous search for active natural products, A. malaccensis seeds ethanolic extract demonstrated antiallergic effect with an IC50 value less than 1 µg/mL. Therefore, the present research aimed to purify and identify the antiallergic principle of A. malaccensis through a bioactivity-guided fractionation approach. We found that phorbol ester-rich fraction was responsible for the antiallergic activity of A. malaccensis seeds. One new active phorbol ester, 12-O-(2Z,4E,6E)-tetradeca-2,4,6-trienoylphorbol-13-acetate, aquimavitalin (1) was isolated. The structure of 1 was assigned by means of 1D and 2D NMR data and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). Aquimavitalin (1) showed strong inhibitory activity in A23187- and antigen-induced degranulation assay with IC50 values of 1.7 and 11 nM, respectively, with a therapeutic index up to 71,000. The antiallergic activities of A. malaccensis seeds and aquimavitalin (1) have never been revealed before. The results indicated that A. malaccensis seeds and the pure compound have the potential for use in the treatment of allergy.

Estrogenic and Anti-estrogenic Constituents of Erythrina caffra.

Utilizing the pER8:GUS transgenic plant bioassay system to monitor estrogenic activity-guided fractionation, one new constituent, erycaffrain A, together with I known compounds were isolated from the ethanolic extract of Erythrina caffra. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified in combination with spectroscopic analyses. This is the first study reporting the estrogenic activity of E. caffra. The new compound exhibited as a SREM, but.also showed both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activities in the MCF-7 cancer cell model. Several known phytoestrogens in this plant also revealed possible new functions for E. caffra stem.

Chemical constituents and bioactivities of Clinacanthus nutans aerial parts.

Four new sulfur-containing compounds, named clinamides A-C (1-3), and 2-cis-entadamide A (4), were isolated together with three known compounds from the bioactive ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Clinacanthus nutans. These secondary metabolites possess sulfur atoms and acrylamide functionalities. The structures of the isolated components were established by interpretation of their spectroscopic data, especially 1D and 2D NMR.

Recent research and development of Antrodia cinnamomea.

Medicinal mushrooms have attracted much attention recently owing to their potent therapeutic activity, especially as chemopreventive and immunomodulatory agents. Antrodia cinnamomea is a treasured Taiwanese mushroom that has been used by aboriginal tribes for centuries to treat food intoxication and to enhance liver functions. It was included in Asian folk medicine in the last few decades with remarkable results in treating inflammatory disorders, cancers, hypertension and hepatitis. This myriad of therapeutic activities encouraged several research groups to subject A. cinnamomea to intensive biological and phytochemical investigation, leading to the isolation of different classes of pharmacologically active secondary metabolites. The in vitro and in vivo biological results of the mushroom extracts and its active components revealed their potent cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities. The aim of this study is to review recent reports on the biological activities of A. cinnamomea extracts and its active components; quality control protocols; synthetic methodologies for the preparation of active components; developed culture techniques; phylogenetic analysis and gene cloning. This study also tackles major challenges facing future expansion of A. cinnamomea production.

1,5-Diphenylpent-3-en-1-ynes and methyl naphthalene carboxylates from Lawsonia inermis and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Lawsonia inermis (Lythraceae) known as henna is one of the most popular and ancient plants used in cosmetics and hair dying. It is cultivated for its leaves but other parts such as seeds, flowers, stem bark and roots are also used in traditional medicine for millennia. Henna tattoo paste also proved to be beneficial for wound healing and in several skin diseases suggesting potent anti-inflammatory activity. To evaluate henna anti-inflammatory activity, 31 compounds, including three 1,5-diphenylpent-3-en-1-yne derivatives, lawsochylin A-C and three methyl naphthalene carboxylates, lawsonaphthoate A-C, were isolated from the stems and leaves of henna utilizing a bioassay-guided fractionation. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data. Two compounds, lawsochylin A and lawsonaphthoate A showed potent anti-inflammatory activity by inhibition of superoxide anion generation (IC(50)=1.80 and 1.90 µg/ml) and elastase release (IC(50)=1.58 and 3.17 µg/ml) of human neutrophils in response to fMLP or cytochalasin B. Moreover, the known compounds, luteolin, apigenin, 4S-4-hydroxy-α-tetralone, and 2-butoxysuccinic acid, also showed potent inhibition of superoxide anion generation (IC(50)=0.75-1.78 µg/ml) and elastase release (IC(50)=1.62-3.61 µg/ml).

Antileukemia component, dehydroeburicoic acid from Antrodia camphorata induces DNA damage and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo models.

Antrodia camphorata (AC) is a native Taiwanese mushroom which is used in Asian folk medicine as a chemopreventive agent. The triterpenoid-rich fraction (FEA) was obtained from the ethanolic extract of AC and characterized by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). FEA caused DNA damage in leukemia HL 60 cells which was characterized by phosphorylation of H2A.X and Chk2. It also exhibited apoptotic effect which was correlated to the enhancement of PARP cleavage and to the activation of caspase 3. Five major triterpenoids, antcin K (1), antcin C (2), zhankuic acid C (3), zhankuic acid A (4), and dehydroeburicoic acid (5) were isolated from FEA. The cytotoxicity of FEA major components (1-5) was investigated showing that dehydroeburicoic acid (DeEA) was the most potent cytotoxic component. DeEA activated DNA damage and apoptosis biomarkers similar to FEA and also inhibited topoisomerase II. In HL 60 cells xenograft animal model, DeEA treatment resulted in a marked decrease of tumor weight and size without any significant decrease in mice body weights. Taken together, our results provided the first evidence that pure AC component inhibited tumor growth in vivo model backing the traditional anticancer use of AC in Asian countries.

Chemical profiling of the cytotoxic triterpenoid-concentrating fraction and characterization of ergostane stereo-isomer ingredients from Antrodia camphorata.

Antrodia camphorata (AC), also known as Antrodia cinnamomea, an endemic species in Taiwan, is one of the treasured medicinal mushrooms. AC is traditionally used for its chemopreventive biofunctions. In this investigation, we report a convenient method for concentrating the antiproliferative active triterpenoid-rich fraction (FEA), from ethanolic extract of AC (EEAC). A series of stereo-isomers of zhankuic acids (1-8) from the FEA was purified by HPLC using an efficient acidic solvent system. The structures of compounds 1-8 were elucidated based on spectroscopic data analysis, and the absolute configuration of α-chiral carboxylic acid at C-25 in the structures was assigned based on reaction with (R)- and (S)-1-(9-anthryl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. Major ingredients of FEA (eight ergostanes 1-8 and two lanostanes 9-10) were further characterised by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection/mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA/MS). Compounds 1-8 and their pair mixture forms (antcin K, antcin C, zhankuic acid C, and zhankuic acid A) were subjected to anti-proliferative assay against three human leukemia cell lines. Among them, the derivatives with carbonyl group at C-3 showed cytotoxicity with IC(50) values ranging from 16.44 to 77.04 µg/ml.

Agaricus blazei Murill extract abrogates CCl4-induced liver injury in rats.

Agaricus blazei Murill (ABM) is enriched with polysaccharides, lipids, vitamins, fibers and minerals. Many studies have shown that ABM possesses immune-enhancing and anti-tumor effects. However, little is known about its protective effects on liver function. We employed carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) to induce hepatic fibrosis in a rat model to examine the protective effects of ABM on the liver in this study. The experiments included non-treatment control, CCl(4)-only control, and treatment with 200 mg and 2,000 mg of ABM extracts (per kilogram rat weight). All groups other than the non-treatment control were treated with intraperitoneal injections of CCl(4) twice a week. Experimental and control rats were tube-fed with experimental ABM extracts or double-distilled water, respectively, on the remaining four days each week. The whole experimental protocol lasted 8 weeks; blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical and tissue histochemical analysis. Plasma alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and the activities of the anti-oxidative enzymes glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase in the liver were measured. We found that high-dose ABM treatment reduced hepatic necrosis and fibrosis caused by CCl(4) in comparison with the CCl(4) control group. ALT and AST activities in the sera collected from ABM-treated rats were lower than those in the CCl(4) control rats. These results suggested that ABM extract was capable of either enhancing liver recovering from CCl(4) damage or attenuating CCl(4) toxicity. Results of anti-oxidative enzyme activity analysis showed no apparent differences among ABM-treated groups and CCl(4) control groups, indicating that removal of free radicals does not explain the protective/recovery effects observed in this study.