New Lupanes from Alstonia scholaris Reducing Uric Acid Level.

Twelve lupanes including three new compounds named alstoscholarilups A-C (1: -3: ) were isolated from the leaves of Alstonia scholaris. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and ECD calculation. Structurally, compound 1: with a rare A ring-seco skeleton formed lactone and degraded C-3, while 2: with a 28-nor and 3: with a 29-nor-lupane skeleton supported the phytochemical diversity and novelty of the plant. Pharmacologically, compounds 4, 7: , and 10: reduced the serum uric acid (UA) levels of mice significantly.

Significant anti-inflammatory aziridine-containing indole alkaloids from the Chinese medicinal plant Alstonia scholaris.

Two unique windmill-like aziridine-containing indole alkaloids, possessing an unprecedented 6/5/5/6/6/5/3 rigid ring system and an unusual azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane core, were isolated from Alstonia scholaris. Their structures were established by spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. The novel compounds exhibited significant anti-inflammatory bioactivity in vitro and alleviated LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Steroidal alkaloids from the roots of Veratrum stenophyllum.

Three new steroidal alkaloids, veratrasines A - C (1-3), along with ten known analogues (4-13) were isolated from the roots of Veratrum stenophyllum. Their structures were elucidated by NMR and HRESIMS data and comparison with the reported data in the literatures. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 and 2 were proposed. Compounds 1, 3, and 8 showed moderate cytotoxic activity against MHCC97H and H1299 cell lines.

Steroidal alkaloid with unprecedented triheterocyclic architecture.

Veratrazine A (1), a steroidal alkaloid with a unique 6/5/5 triheterocyclic scaffold as the side chain, was isolated from Veratrum stenophyllum, and its structure was established via spectroscopic analyses and X-ray diffraction. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 is proposed. Bioassy exhibits moderate anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo.

Anti-hyperuricemic bioactivity of Alstonia scholaris and its bioactive triterpenoids in vivo and in vitro.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY RELEVANCE: One folk use of Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. in "Dai" ethno-medicine system is to treat gouty arthritis, which might be caused by hyperuricemia, but anti-hyperuricemic investigation of A. scholaris were rarely reported. AIM OF THE STUDY: To verify anti-hyperuricemic property of A. scholaris, and explore its bioactive compounds in vivo and in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-hyperuricemic bioactivity of the non-alkaloids fraction and compounds were evaluated with potassium oxonate (PO) induced hyperuricemia mice model in vivo, and monosodium urate (MSU) induced human renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) was selected to test in vitro, respectively, with benzobromarone as the positive control. 11 triterpenoids were isolated by phytochemical methods and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and ECD calculation. RESULTS: The non-alkaloids fraction of A. scholaris decreased the serum uric acid (UA) level in mice model significantly at the doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, and then nine ursane- and two oleanane-triterpenoids including four new compounds (1-3 and 10) were isolated from the bioactive fraction, in which compounds 1, 4, 5, 6 and 10 exhibited better anti-hyperuricemic tendency in vitro by promoting the excretion of UA in MSU-induced HK-2 cell model at a concentration of 5 µM. Furthermore, compounds 1 and 4 were proved to reduce the serum UA level in mice significantly at 5 mg/kg in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: The results supported the traditional use of A. scholaris in treating gouty arthritis, and also provided new bioactive triterpenoids for further chemical and pharmacological investigation.

Myrothins A-F from Endophytic Fungus Myrothecium sp. BS-31 Harbored in Panax notoginseng.

Endophytic fungi play important roles for host's stress tolerance including invasion by pathogenic microbes. Small molecules are common weapons in the microbe-microbe interactions. Panax notoginseng is a widely used traditional Chinese medicinal plant and harbors many endophytes, some exert functions against pathogens. Here, we report six new compounds named myrothins A-F (1-6) produced by Myrothecium sp. BS-31, an endophyte isolated from P. notoginseng, and their antifungal activities against pathogenic fungi causing host root-rot disease. Their structures were elucidated with analysis of spectroscopic data including 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS. Myrothins B (2) and E (5) showed the weak activity against Fusarium oxysporum and Phoma herbarum, and myrothins F (6) showed weak activity against F. oxysporum.

A review of plant characteristics, phytochemistry and bioactivities of the genus Glechoma.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Plants of the genus Glechoma have been abundantly used for thousands of years in China as folk treatments for cholelithiasis, urolithiasis, inflammation, and other conditions. AIM OF THE STUDY: This review discusses the potential application of Glechoma as an herbal medicine. The plant characteristics, ethnobotanical uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of Glechoma are summarized as a guide for phytochemical and pharmacological investigations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Various search engines including SciFinder, Google Scholar, Scopus-Elsevier, Medline, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched for publications on Glechoma using relevant keywords. Additionally, local records, books, and non-English journals were screened up to October 2020. RESULTS: The phytochemistry of several Glechoma plants has been systematically studied, and over one hundred different compounds have been isolated and identified. Terpenoids, flavonoids and polyphenols are the major secondary metabolites. Crude extracts and isolated compounds have been shown to exhibit various pharmacological activities including prevention of nephrolithiasis, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticomplement, antimicrobial, antioxidant, depigmenting, anticancer, and antiviral activities, among others. CONCLUSION: Glechoma species have been used as folk medicine to treat various diseases and have diverse biological activities, making them valuable starting materials for drug development. However, in most cases the pharmacological mechanisms, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, safety, and possible interactions with other drugs remain to be determined.