Mexicanolide-type limonoids from the twigs and leaves of Cipadessa baccifera.

Twelve previously undescribed mexicanolide-type limonoids, including two pairs of isomers, together with seven known analogues were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Cipadessa baccifera. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic methods and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Structural variations mainly occurred at the attachment of C-3 and the carbon residues linked to C-17. 21-deoxo-23-oxofebrifugin A and 3-O-detigloyl-3-O-isobutyryl-21-deoxo-23-oxofebrifugin A are two rare naturally occurring mexicanolide-type limonoids bearing an α,ß-unsaturated-γ-lactone motif at C-17. Moreover, cipaferen R is the first degraded tetranortriterpenoid derivative featuring an unique acetyl group at C-17. Some isolated compounds were evaluated for nematicidal, antifungal, cytotoxic (against five human cancer cell lines), and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. No nematicidal and antifungal activities were observed, yet 3-O-detigloyl-3-O-isobutyrylfebrifugin A, febrifugin A, febrifugin, and khaysin T exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity against the tested cells with IC50 values ranging from 18.56 ± 0.27 to 38.00 ± 0.85 µM, and 3-O-detigloyl-3-O-isobutyrylfebrifugin A, granatumin E, khaysin T, and 2'S-cipadesin A showed moderate inhibitory activities against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) at 50 µM.

Serum alanine transaminase levels predict type 2 diabetes risk among a middle-aged and elderly Chinese population.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: It is indicated that high levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are associated with increased incident type 2 diabetes risk. However, whether serum ALT levels could improve the discrimination of type 2 diabetes remains unclear. METHODS: The data was derived from the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort study, which was established in 2008 and followed until October 2013. A total of 17,173 participants free of type 2 diabetes at baseline were included and 1159 participants developed diabetes after 4.51 (0.61) years of follow-up. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) for the association between ALT and AST levels with incident diabetes risk. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis was used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of models incorporating traditional risk factors with and without ALT. RESULTS: Compared with the lowest quartile of ALT and AST levels, the highest quartile had a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (HR: 2.17 [95% CI: 1.78-2.65] and 1.29 [1.08-1.54], respectively) after adjustment for potential confounders. The addition of ALT levels into the traditional risk factors did not improve the predictive ability of type 2 diabetes, with AUC increase from 0.772 to 0.774; P=0.86. CONCLUSIONS: Although elevated ALT or AST levels increased incident type 2diabetes risk, addition of ALT levels into the prediction model did not improve the discrimination of type 2 diabetes.