The nature compound dehydrocrenatidine exerts potent antihepatocellular carcinoma by destroying mitochondrial complexes in vitro and in vivo.

Cumulative evidence indicates that mitochondria dysfunction plays an important role in tumour treatment. Given the limited efficacy and toxicity of current mitochondria-targeted drugs, research into effective mitochondria-targeted anticancer agents remains an irresistible general trend. In this study, it was found that dehydrocrenatidine (DEC), a ß-carbolin alkaloid isolated from Picrasma quassiodes, displays a promising growth inhibitory effect in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Mechanistically, we provided that the possible target of DEC against HCC cells was determined by isobaric labels for relative and absolute quantification assay and validated them using further experiments. The results suggested that DEC can target and regulate the function of mitochondrial complexes I, III and IV, affecting oxidative phosphorylation and ultimately leading to mitochondrial dysfunction to exert its anti-HCC effects. In addition, the combination of DEC and sorafenib showed a synergistic effect and was also associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Importantly, DEC did not show significant toxicity in mice. This study provided a new insight into underlying mechanisms in DEC-treated HCC cells, suggesting that DEC might be a mitochondrial targeting lead compound.

Discovery of alkaloids from the leaves of Isatis indigotica Fortune with neuroprotective activity.

Seven alkaloids including five undescribed ones (1a/1b, 2, 3 and 5) were obtained from the leaves of Isatis indigotica Fortune. Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configurations of compounds 1a, 1b, 3 and 5 were determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Subsequently, the neuroprotective effects of all the isolates against H2O2-induced injury in SH-SY5Y cells were evaluated in vitro by MTT assay. Moreover, Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining was performed, while the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT and GSH-Px) for compounds 1a and 1b were measured.

Chiral resolution and neuroprotective activities of enantiomeric 8-O-4' neolignans from the fruits of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.

Five pairs of enantiomeric 8-O-4' neolignans (1a/1b-5a/5b), including seven new compounds (1a/1b, 2a, 3a, 4a/4b and 5b), were obtained from the fruits of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. Their structures were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configurations of the enantiomers were determined by comparison of the experimental ECD with the calculated data. Additionally, all the enantiomeric neolignans were evaluated for their neuroprotective activity against H2O2-induced cell injury in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, and most of them showed potent selective neuroprotective activity. Especially, 3b (72.98%) showed the best protective effect, better than 3a (63.49%) and trolox (62.86%) at 25 µM.

Timosaponin AIII: A novel potential anti-tumor compound from Anemarrhena asphodeloides.

Timosaponin AIII, a major steroidal saponin found in Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge., which has been widely used as anti-pyretic, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet aggregator and anti-depressant agents in traditional Chinese medicine. Recent pharmacological study showed that timosaponin AIII had potent cytotoxicity, which was potential to be developed as an anticancer agent, however the molecular mechanism underlying the anticancer activity has not been fully elucidated. This review aims to give a systematic summary of the study of timosaponin AIII to reveal its anti-tumor activities by investigating invasion and migration, apoptosis, autophagy and reversing multi-drug resistance. Furthermore, we also make an overview of the mechanisms identified till now. These meaningful findings may provide novel insights on exploiting timosaponin AIII as a new anti-tumor agent.