Polyphenols from the Peels of Punica granatum L. and Their Bioactivity of Suppressing Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Inflammatory Cytokines and Mediators in RAW 264.7 Cells via Activating p38 MAPK and NF-κB Signaling Pathways.

Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae) is a popular fruit all over the world. Owning to its enriched polyphenols, P. granatum has been widely used in treating inflammation-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Twenty polyphenols, containing nine unreported ones, named punicagranins A-I (1-9), along with eleven known isolates (10-20), were obtained from the peels. Their detailed structures were elucidated based on UV, IR, NMR, MS, optical rotation, ECD analyses and chemical evidence. The potential anti-inflammatory activities of all polyphenols were examined on a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory macrophages model, which indicated that enhancing nitric oxide (NO) production in response to inflammation stimulated in RAW 264.7 cells was controlled by compounds 1, 3, 5-8, 10, 11, 14 and 16-20 in a concentration-dependent manner. The investigation of structure-activity relationships for tannins 6-8 and 12-20 suggested that HHDP, flavogallonyl and/or gallagyl were key groups for NO production inhibitory activity. Western blotting indicated that compounds 6-8 could down-regulate the phosphorylation levels of proteins p38 MAPK, IKKα/ß, IκBα and NF-κB p65 as well as inhibit the levels of inflammation-related cytokines and mediators, such as IL-6, TNF-α, iNOS and COX-2, at the concentration of 30 µM. In conclusion, polyphenols are proposed to be the potential anti-inflammatory active ingredients in P. granatum peels, and their molecular mechanism is likely related to the regulation of the p38 MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways.

[Recent advances in treatment of viral pneumonia using Chinese patent medicine].

Viral pneumonia is caused by a spreading of lung infection caused by respiratory viruses. Some virus infections were found to be highly aggressive, leading to lung inflammation and severe damage in respiratory system with high fatality rate. Currently, there is no effective therapeutic drugs in the clinic. The common clinical symptoms of viral pneumonias include fever, rhinitis, runny nose, nonproductive cough, fatigue, myalgias and headaches after the immune system being tricked by driving cytokines and overactivated immune response induced by cytokine storms. Patients with severe symptoms could get persistent high fever, dysfunctional breathing, consciousness disorders and even respiratory failure, post-inflammatory pulmonary fibrosis, multi-organ damages, shock and so on. Most clinical treatments are used to inhibit virus replication, relieve symptoms, inhibit excessive inflammatory response, regulate immune balance and protect organs. Both applied and basic research demonstrate that Chinese patent medicine has certain anti-viral effects, effectively inhibiting viral pneumonia transiting from mild to severe, rapid relieving of patient symptoms because of their multi-component and multi-target integrated roles. This review has summarized the reports on the treatment of viral pneumonia. Based on the pathogenic characteristics of viral pneumonia, this paper summarizes the diverse roles of the marketed Chinese patent medicine, such as their effects in inhibiting the progress of viral replication and overactivated inflammatory response, regulating immune balance, attenuating pulmonary fibrosis and so forth. Our paper summarizes the advantages of Chinese patient medicine in the treatment of viral pneumonia, based on which improvements of clinical therapy are expected to be made soon.

Two new naphthalene glycosides from the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia.

A phytochemical study on the seeds of Cassia obtusifolia was carried out, which finally led to obtain two naphthalenes (1 and 2), two naphthopyrans (3 and 4) and twelve anthraquinones (5-16). The structures of all compounds were established mainly by NMR and MS experiments as well as the necessary chemical evidence. Among them, 1 and 2 (obtusinaphthalensides A and B) were identified to be new naphthalene glycosides.

[N-containing compounds from seeds of Paganum harmala].

To investigate the N-containing compounds in the seeds of Paganum harmala,fourteen compounds were finally isolated from the 95% Et OH extract of P. harmala seeds by using various chromatographic techniques including silica gel,MCI resin,and ODS column chromatography as well as the semi-preparative HPLC. Depending on spectroscopic techniques and comparison with the reported data in the literatures,the structures of all compounds were identified as N-[3-(2-amino-4-methoxyphenyl)-3-oxopropyl]acetamide(1),dehydroharmalacidine(2),harmalacidine(3),harmine N-oxide(4),harmine(5),tetrahydroharmine(6),demethylharmalacidine(7),harmol(8),tetrahydroharmol(9),harmindol ß-D-glucopyranoside(10),tryptophyl ß-D-glucopyranoside(11),pegamineß-D-glucopyranoside(12),vasicol(13) and vasicinone(14). Among them,1 was a new compound,and 2 and 10 were obtained as natural products for the first time.

Secoiridoid analogues from the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum and their inhibitory activities against influenza A virus.

A phytochemical study focusing on the secoiridoid components in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum was carried out, which finally led to the isolation of nine secoiridoid glycosides (1-9) together with two secoiridoids (10, 11). The structures of all compounds were established mainly by NMR and MS experiments as well as the necessary chemical evidence, of which 1, 2, 4 (ligulucisides A-C), 10 and 11 (liguluciridoids A and B) were identified as new secoiridoid analogues. An in vitro antiviral bioassay indicated that 1, 4, 6, and 10 displayed the inhibitory activities against influenza A virus with the IC50 values of 16.5, 12.5, 13.1, and 18.5 µM, respectively, which were better than the positive control Ribavirin (IC50 22.6 µM). .

[Chemcial constituents of Eclipta prostrata].

A total of twenty-two compounds were isolated from the 95% EtOH extract of Eclipta prostrata by various purification steps, and their structures were established as ecliptalignin A (1)，ecliptasaponin Ⅰ (2), ecliptasaponin Ⅱ (3), echinocystic acid (4), 3-oxo-16α-hydroxy-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (5), acacetin-7-O-rutinoside (6), luteoloside (7), apigenin (8), luteolin (9), acacetin (10), skullcapflavone Ⅱ (11), kaempferol (12), kaempferide (13), quercetin (14), 4',7-dihydroxyl-3',6'-dimethoxylisoflavone-7-O-glucoside (15), ecliptal (16), 5-hydroxymethyl-(2,2',5',2″)-terthienyl tiglate (17), psoralen (18), isopsoralen (19), wedelolactone (20), crinumaquine (21), and 2,3,9,12-tetramethoxyprotoberberine (22) mainly based on the spectroscopic techniques, of which 1 was a new lignin analogue, and 5, 6, 10-13, 15, 18, 19, 21 and 22 were isolated form this plant for the first time.

Polyoxypregnane Glycosides from the Roots of Marsdenia tenacissima and Their Anti-HIV Activities.

A continuous phytochemical study on the roots of Marsdenia tenacissima led to the isolation and identification of 13 new polyoxypregnane glycosides named marstenacissides B10-B17 (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 14) and marstenacissides A8-A12 (3, 9, 10, 13, and 15) in addition to two known polyoxypregnane glycosides marsdenosides M and L (5 and 6). Their structures were established by spectroscopic techniques and by comparison with the reported data in the literature. Moreover, the anti-HIV activities of these isolates and the previous isolated marstenacissides A1-A7 and B1-B9 were assessed, some of which exhibited slight or negligible effects against HIV-1.

Analysis of the Constituents in "Zhu She Yong Xue Shuan Tong" by Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Combined with Preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatography.

"Zhu She Yong Xue Shuan Tong" lyophilized powder (ZSYXST), consists of a series of saponins extracted from Panax notoginseng, which has been widely used in China for the treatment of strokes. In this study, an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) combined with preparative high performance liquid chromatography (PHPLC) method was developed to rapidly identify both major and minor saponins in ZSYXST. Some high content components were removed through PHPLC in order to increase the sensitivity of the trace saponins. Then, specific characteristic fragment ions in both positive and negative mode were utilized to determine the types of aglycone, saccharide, as well as the saccharide chain linkages. As a result, 94 saponins, including 20 pairs of isomers and ten new compounds, which could represent higher than 98% components in ZSYXST, were identified or tentatively identified in commercial ZSYXST samples.

[Identification of Chinese Traditional Medicine Cistanches Herba from Different Places by HPLC-ESI-MS and FTIR Methods].

Five samples of Cistanches Herba from different places were analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS and FTIR methods. The effective compositions in Cistanches Herba including cistanoside A, echinacoside, acteoside , isoacteoside, 2'-actylacteoside, cistanoside C and tubluoside B were determined by HPLC-MS. The common peak ratio and variant peak ratio were calculated by FTIR spectroscopy of the five samples and the dual index sequence of common peak ratio and variant peak ratio were established. The results showed that the evaluation results of the samples by the two methods were the same. The general fake plant Cynomorii Herba could be identified by FTIR. HPLC-ESI-MS, which has high sensitivity and rapid determination procedure, can be used to evaluate quality of Cistanches Herba by quantitative analysis of the primary compositions. FTIR is a non-destructive analysis method. without complicated extraction and separation procedures to the samples. The absorption strength and the absorption shape were the synergistic effect of the functional groups and the nestification of the components in Cistanches Herba. The provided method has some advantages such as rapid analysis process, good reproducibility, non-destructive, small quantity of sample, simple treatment, good specificity, low-cost and environment-friendly. The method meets the trend of complex analysis and whole analysis for the Chinese medicines. Combination of FTIR and HPLC-ESI-MS was a good method for identification and evaluation of quality of Chinese medicines.

Rare syringyl acylated flavonol glycosides from the aerial parts of Leonurus japonicus Houtt.

Five new syringyl acylated flavonol glycosides, named leonurusoides A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), and E (5), together with one known one 6 were obtained from the aerial parts of Leonurus japonicus. Their structures were elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic methods (UV, IR, HRESI-TOF-MS, 1D and 2D NMR). Compounds 1-6 showed triglyceride (TG) accumulation inhibitory effects in free fatty acid-induced HepG2 cells.