Secondary metabolites of petri-dish cultured Antrodia camphorata and their hepatoprotective activities against alcohol-induced liver injury in mice.

Antrodia camphorata, a well-known and highly valued edible medicinal mushroom with intriguing activities like liver protection, has been traditionally used for the treatment of alcoholic liver disease. A. camphorata shows highly medicinal and commercial values with the demand far exceeds the available supply. Thus, the petri-dish cultured A. camphorata (PDCA) is expected to develope as a substitute. In this paper, nineteen triterpenes were isolated from PDCA, and thirteen of them were the unique anthroic acids in A. camphorata, including the main content antcin K, which suggested that PDCA produced a large array of the same anthroic acids as the wild one. Furthermore, no obvious acute toxicity was found suggesting the edible safety of PDCA. In mice alcohol-induced liver injury model, triglyceride (TG), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) had been reduced by the PDCA powder as well as the main content antcin K, which indicated that the PDCA could protect alcoholic liver injury in mice model and antcin K could be the effective component responsible for the hepatoprotective activities of PDCA against alcoholic liver diseases.

RXRα transcriptional inhibitors from the stems of Calophyllum membranaceum.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the 60% ethanol extract of the stems of Calophyllum membranaceum using the RXRα transcription activation assay led to the isolation of two new chromanones, calopolyanic acid methyl ester (1) and isopinetoric acid methyl ester (2), two new xanthones, calophylixanthones A-B (3-4), and one new C-glycoside, calophymembranside C (5), along with 13 known compounds. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data. Compounds 5, 11 and 18 showed transcriptional inhibitory activity of RXRα with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 29.95 ± 1.08, 31.06 ± 9.02, and 25.88 ± 1.62 µM, respectively.

[Chemical constituents and cytotoxicity assay research in small polar substances from Vitis thunbergii var. taiwaniana].

This article studied the chemical constituents from the aerial part of Vitis thunbergii var. taiwaniana. The 60% ethanol extract was eluted with 95% ethanol though HP-20 macroporous adsorption resin column. 12 compounds, including (1) betulinic acid, (2)2, 2, 2'-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane bis (2, 3-epoxypropyl) ether, (3) eriodictyol, (4) trans-ε-viniferin, (5) (+)-cis-ε-viniferin, (6) kobophenol A, (7) ampelopsin A, (8) nepalensinol B, (9) cis-miyabenol C, (10) cis-vitisin B, (11) cis-gnetin H and (12) (+)-hopeaphenol, were separated by using normal phase silica gel, ODS, Sephdadex LH-20 column chromatographies and semi-preparative or preparative HPLC. Compounds 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 were separated from the genus Vitis for the first time and compounds 3, 7, 12 were separated from Vitis thunbergii var. taiwaniana for the first time. At a concentration of 50 µmol · L(-1), compound 6, 7 and 11 showed strong cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cell lines with the inhibition rate of 66.58%, 57.16%, 52.84%, respectively.

Bioactive prenylated xanthones from the stems of Cratoxylum cochinchinense.

Cochinchinones M-U (1-9), together with 12 known compounds (10-21), were isolated from the stems of Cratoxylum cochinchinense (Lour.) Blume. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data analyses. In addition, their retinoid X receptor-α transcriptional activities were evaluated using an in vitro assay.

[Chemical constituents from Elephantopus tomentosus].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Elephantopus tomentosus. METHOD: The compounds were isolated by repeated HP20 macro porous adsorption resin column combined with Sephadex LH-20, ODS and silica gel chromatographies. The structures were identified on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data analysis and by comparison of their spectral data reported. RESULT: Eighteen compounds were identified as 2-deethoxy-2beta-hydroxyphantomolin (1), 2beta-hydroxy-2-deethoxy-8-O-deacylphantomolin-8-O-tiglinate (2), 2beta-methoxy-2-deethoxyphantomolin (3), 2beta-methoxy-2-deethoxy-8-O-deacylphantomolin-8-O-tiglinate (4), molephantin (5), molephantinin (6), tricin (7), luteolin (8), quercetin (9), 3beta-friedelinol (10), 3beta-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (11), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoyl quinic acid (12), 3,4-di-O-caffeoyl quinic acid (13), syringaresinol-4-beta-D-glucopyranoside (14), xylogranatinin (15), byzantionoside B (16), 2'-hydroxycinnamaldehyde (17), and caffeic acid ethyl ester (18). CONCLUSION: Compounds 9, 11, 14-18 were separated from Elephantopus for the first time.