Immunomodulatory Effects of Diterpene Quinone Derivatives from the Roots of Horminum pyrenaicum in Human PBMC.

Several phytochemicals were shown to interfere with redox biology in the human system. Moreover, redox biochemistry is crucially involved in the orchestration of immunological cascades. When screening for immunomodulatory compounds, the two interferon gamma- (IFN-γ-) dependent immunometabolic pathways of tryptophan breakdown via indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO-1) and neopterin formation by GTP-cyclohydrolase 1 (GTP-CH-I) represent prominent targets, as IFN-γ-related signaling is strongly sensitive to oxidative triggers. Herein, the analysis of these pathway activities in human peripheral mononuclear cells was successfully applied in a bioactivity-guided fractionation strategy to screen for anti-inflammatory substances contained in the root of Horminum (H.) pyrenaicum L. (syn. Dragon's mouth), the only representative of the monophyletic genus Horminum. Four abietane diterpene quinone derivatives (horminone, 7-O-acetylhorminone, inuroyleanol and its 15,16-dehydro-derivative, a novel natural product), two nor-abietane diterpene quinones (agastaquinone and 3-deoxyagastaquinone) and two abeo 18 (4 → 3) abietane diterpene quinones (agastol and its 15,16-dehydro-derivative) could be identified. These compounds were able to dose-dependently suppress the above mentioned pathways with different potency. Beside the description of new active compounds, this study demonstrates the feasibility of integrating IDO-1 and GTP-CH-I activity in the search for novel anti-inflammatory compounds, which can then be directed towards a more detailed mode of action analysis.

Characterization of the XIAP-Inhibiting Proanthocyanidin Fraction of the Aerial Parts of Ephedra sinica.

The X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein is a cellular protein that inhibits the activity of mammalian caspases and promotes resistance to apoptosis. The ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Ephedra sinica has been identified to possess inhibitory activity of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein by an in vitro fluorescence polarization assay using the BIR3 domain of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein. Bioactivity-guided fractionation identified proanthocyanidin-enriched fractions as the active principles. The most active fraction showed an IC50 value of 27.3 µg/mL (CI95: 25.9-28.9 µg/mL) corresponding to 9.6 µM (CI95: 9.1-10.1 µM) calculated by the use of the determined average molecular weight of 2853.5. Samples were analyzed by a thiolytic degradation/HPLC-MS assay, UHPLC-HRMS, and 1D NMR.The thiolytic degradation/HPLC-MS assay revealed a mean degree of polymerization of 9.5 ± 0.2 units (calculated average MW 2853.5) for the active fraction and 11.4 ± 0.6 units (calculated average MW 3437.0) for the most related inactive fraction. Chemical characterization identified (epi)gallocatechin (76.6 ± 1.0 % active; 80.7 ± 2.7 % inactive sample) and (epi)catechin units as building blocks. Interestingly, the investigated proanthocyanidins turned out to be a complex mixture of double linked A-type (binding 2-O-7″, 4-6″) and single linked B-type units.This study identified oligomeric proanthocyanidins as active principles of E. sinica in vitro by a fluorescence polarization assay and via protein fragment complementation analysis.