Sulphated Fucooligosaccharide from Sargassum Horneri: Structural Analysis and Anti-Alzheimer Activity.

In the present study, sulfated polysaccharides were obtained by digestion of Sargassum horneri and preparation with enzyme-assisted extraction using three food-grade enzymes, and their anti- Alzheimer's activities were investigated. The results demonstrated that the crude sulfated polysaccharides extracted using AMGSP, CSP and VSP dose-dependently (25-100 µg·mL- 1) raised the spontaneous alternating manner (%) in the Y maze experiment of mice and reduced the escape latency time in Morris maze test. AMGSP, CSP and VSP also exhibited good anti-AChE and moderate anti-BuChE activities. CSP displayed the best inhibitory efficacy against AChE. with IC50 values of 9.77 µM. And, CSP also exhibited good inhibitory selectivity of AChE over BuChE. Next, CSP of the best active crude extract was separated by the preparation type high performance liquid phase to obtain the sulphated fucooligosaccharide section: SFcup (→3-α-L-fucp(2-SO3-)-1→4-α-L-fucp(2,3-SO3-)-1→section), SFcup showed a best inhibitory efficacy against AChE with IC50 values of 4.03 µM. The kinetic research showed that SFcup inhibited AChE through dual binding sites. Moreover, the molecular docking of SFcup at the AChE active site was in accordance with the acquired pharmacological results.

(S)-N-Benzyl-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoqunoline-2(1H)-carboxamide Derivatives, Multi-Target Inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidase and Cholinesterase: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity.

A series of (S)-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2(1H)-carboxamide derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activity against monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and-B, acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and butyrylcholine esterase (BChE). Four compounds (2i, 2p, 2t, and 2v) showed good inhibitory activity against both MAO-A and MAO-B, and two compounds (2d and 2j) showed selective inhibitory activity against MAO-A, with IC50 values of 1.38 and 2.48 µM, respectively. None of the compounds showed inhibitory activity against AChE; however, 12 compounds showed inhibitory activity against BChE. None of the active compounds showed cytotoxicity against L929cells. Molecular docking revealed several important interactions between the active analogs and amino acid residues of the protein receptors. This research paves the way for further study aimed at designing MAO and ChE inhibitors for the treatment of depression and neurodegenerative disorders.

Antioxidative and Cytoprotective Effects of Ganoderma applanatum and Fomitopsis pinicola in PC12 Adrenal Phaeochromocytoma Cells.

Considering the impact of oxidative stress on the development of many diseases, together with the role of natural antioxidants in maintaining physiological balance in humans, medicinal mushrooms are potential sources of bioactive compounds against many diseases. In the present work, in vitro evaluation of the biological activities of the alcoholic extracts of two wild tree mushrooms, namely, Ganoderma applanatum and Fomitopsis pinicola, has been performed. Extraction of G. applanatum (GAE) and F. pinicola (FPE) was conducted with 60% ethanol and 100% ethanol sequentially. UPLC-MS/MS identification was conducted on the two mushrooms extracts. A total of 15 substances were identified in GAE, including 3 spiro meroterpenoids and 12 triterpenoids; a total of 14 chemical constituents were iden¬tified in FPE, including 8 triterpenoids, 4 triterpene glycosides, 1 lanosterol, and 1 lanostanoid. The resulting extracts were examined for their in vitro antioxidative and cytoprotective effects against AAPH-induced oxidative damage. Our results demonstrated that both extracts have potent antioxidative activities, when GAE was 0.2 mg/mL, the clearance rates of DPPH and ABTS have reached 93.34% and 99.93%, respectively. When FPE was 1.4 mg/mL and 0.6 mg/mL, the scavenging rates of DPPH and ABTS have reached 91.76% and 100%, respectively. Both the alcoholic extracts of G. applanatum and F. pinicola were able to protect the AAPH-induced damage and could effectively inhibit cell aging via ß-galactosidase (SA ß-gal) staining activity test and scanning electron microscopy analysis.

Biological evaluation of 2,3-dioxoindolin-N-phenylacetamide derivatives as potent CDC25B and PTP1B phosphatase inhibitors

A series of 2,3-dioxoindolin-N-phenylacetamide derivatives was evaluated for inhibitory activity against CDC25B and PTP1B enzymes. Most of the derivatives showed inhibitory activity against CDC25B (IC50 = 3.2-23.2 µg/mL) and PTP1B (IC50 = 2.9-21.4 µg/mL). Compound 2h showed the most inhibitory activity in vitro with IC50 values of 3.2 and 2.9 µg/mL against CDC25B and PTP1B, respectively, compared with the reference drugs Na3VO4 (IC50 = 2.7 µg/mL) and oleanolic acid (IC50 = 2.3 µg/mL). The results of selectivity experiments showed that the 2,3-dioxoindolin-N-phenylacetamide derivatives were selective inhibitors against CDC25B and PTP1B. Enzyme kinetic experiments demonstrated that compound 2h was a specific inhibitor with the typical characteristics of a mixed inhibitor. In cytotoxic activity assays compound 2h had potent activity against A549, HeLa, and HCT116 cell lines. In addition, compound 2h showed potent tumor inhibitory activity in a colo205 xenograft model in vivo.

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of a series novel 5,7-diisoprenyloxyflavone derivatives

In the present study, a series of novel 5,7-diisoprenyloxyflavone derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their antibacterial activity. Most of these compounds displayed significant antibacterial effects against Gram-positive bacteria, especially against strains of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates. Compounds 4c, 4g, 4i, 4j, 4k, 4l, 4n, 4q and 4t showed high levels of antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus RN4220 with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 4.0-20 µM. Compound 4k showed the most potent activity among these compounds against all multidrug-resistant clinical isolates tested. Unfortunately, none of the compounds were active against Gram-negative bacteria at the doses of 24-164 µM.

Chalcone derivatives bearing chromen or benzo[f]chromen moieties: Design, synthesis, and evaluations of anti-inflammatory, analgesic, selective COX-2 inhibitory activities.

Thirty-eight chalconederivatives bearing a chromen or benzo[f]chromen moiety were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Using an ear edema model, anti-inflammatory activities were observed for compounds 3a-3s (ear inflammation: 1.75-3.71 mg) and 4a-4s (ear inflammation: 1.71-4.94 mg). All compounds also displayed analgesic effects with inhibition values of 66.7-100% (3a-3s) and 96.2-100% (4a-4s). The 12 compounds that displayed excellent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects were tested for their inhibitory activity against ovine COX-1 and COX-2. Six compounds bearing a chromen moiety were weak inhibitors of the COX-1 isozyme but showed moderate COX-2 isozyme inhibitory effects (IC50s from 0.37 µM to 0.83 µM) and COX-2 selectivity indexes (SI: 22.49-9.34). Those bearing a benzo[f]chromen moiety were more selective toward COX-2 than those bearing a chromen moiety with IC50s from 0.25 µM to 0.43 µM and COX-2 selectivity indexes from SI: 31.08 to 20.67.

Global profiling combined with predicted metabolites screening for discovery of natural compounds: Characterization of ginsenosides in the leaves of Panax notoginseng as a case study.

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) guided isolation is a favored strategy to quickly and efficiently explore the chemical diversity of herbal medicines. In this study, two methods were adopted to improve the performance of the strategy, including offline two-dimensional (2D) LC to extend the peak capacities and predicted metabolites screening (PMS) to automatically screen the targets with expanded databases. Ginsenosides in the leaves of Panax notoginseng (PNL) were taken as a case. An offline 2D LC system was constructed with an orthogonality of 0.69 and peak capacity of 8925. Quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-fast data directed analysis (QTOF-Fast DDA) was employed for detection of the ginsenosides in the fractioned samples. Four modified groups, including glucose, xylose, rhamnose and malonyl, were adopted and markedly extended the screening coverage. The combined strategy showed about 7.5 times improvement in the screening capability. PMS is conveniently and automatically implemented in UNIFI. Using this strategy, 945 ginsenosides were discovered from PNL, including 662 potentially novel ginsenosides. Furthermore, two new ginsenosides were purified, and unambiguously identified by NMR analysis, partially demonstrating the LC-MS guided isolation. The combined strategy can also be applied in characterizing and discovering new bioactive constituents from other herbal medicines.

Synthesis, potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities study of (S)-N-substituted-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2(1H)-carboxamides.

A series of (S)-N-substitued-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2(1H)-carboxamide derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in vivo. Among the synthesized compounds 2a and 2n showed the best anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition rate: 95% and 92.7%, respectively) and analgesic effect (inhibition rate: 100% and 100%, respectively), which was greater than that or nearly equivalent to that of indomethacin. Compounds 2a and 2n were selected to test their inhibitory effects against ovine COX-1 and COX-2 using the cyclooxygenase inhibition assay in vitro. Compounds 2a and 2n are weak inhibitors of COX-1 isozyme but displayed moderate COX-2 isozyme inhibitory effects (IC50=0.47µM and 1.63µM, respectively) and COX-2 selectivity indexes (SI=11.5 and 4.8). Furthermore, compound 2a was more inhibitors of COX-2 isozyme active than the reference drug celecoxib.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of 5-phenyl-[1,2,4]-triazolo[4,3-a]quinolines.

A series of novel 5-phenyl-[1,2,4]-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoline derivatives was synthesized by the cyclization of 2-chloro-4-phenyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene with formohydrazide. The starting material 2-chloro-4-phenyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene was synthesized from ethyl-3-oxo-3-phenylpropanoate and substituted aniline. Their anticonvulsant activities were evaluated by the maximal electroshock (MES) test and their neurotoxicity was evaluated by the rotarod neurotoxicity test (Tox). The maximal electroshock test showed that 7-hexyloxy-5-phenyl-[1,2,4]-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoline 4f was found to be the most potent compound with an ED(50) value of 6.5 mg/kg and a protective index (PI = ED(50) / TD(50)) value of 35.1, which was much higher than the PI of the reference drug phenytoin.

Synthesis of some quinoline-2(1H)-one and 1, 2, 4 - triazolo [ 4 , 3 -a ] quinoline derivatives as potent anticonvulsants.

PURPOSE: A new series of substituted quinoline-2(1H)-one and 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]-quinoline derivatives were designed and synthesized to meet the structural requirements essential for anticonvulsant properties. METHODS: 4-substituted-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolines, 5-substituted-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3a]quinolines and 5-substituted-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo-[4,3-a]quinoline-1-(2H)-ones derivatives were synthesized using 3-substituted-phenyl-N-phenyl-acrylamide as a starting material. Their anticonvulsant activity were evaluated by maximal electroshock (MES) test, subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol (scPTZ) test, and their neurotoxic effects were determined by the rotarod neurotoxicity test. RESULTS: The compounds 4-substitued-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolines (2a-f) had increased anticonvulsant effects compared to the parental compounds. The compounds 5-substituted-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinolines (3a-f) had significantly increased anticonvulsant activity compared to 2a-f. However, the compounds 5-substituted-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoline-1(2H)-ones(4a-f), exhibited no anticonvulsant effects even under a high dose of 300 mg/kg. CONCLUSIONS: The triazole, but not the triazolone, modified series showed stronger anticonvulsant effects than the parent compounds. Among them, compound (3f), 5-(p-fluorophenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoline, showed the strongest anticonvulsant effect with ED50 of 27.4mg/kg and 22.0mg/kg in the anti-MES and anti-PTZ test, respectively.

Protective effects of chalcone derivatives for acute liver injury in mice.

The hepatoprotective effects of chalcone derivatives were evaluated in D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (D-GalN/LPS)-induced fulminant hepatic failure in mouse. Thirteen chalcone derivatives were synthesized for study and their hepatoprotective effects were evaluated by assessing aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in serum. Chalcone preparations were injected into mice at 12 h and 1 h before intraperitoneal injection of D-GalN/LPS. After abdominal administration, changes in AST and ALT between the control and treated groups were observed. Ten of the synthesized chalcone derivatives exhibited inhibitory effects on D-GalN/LPS-induced levels of AST and ALT in mice. Compounds 2, 3, 8, 9, and 12 markedly reduced serum AST and ALT at 8 h, inhibited hepatocyte necrosis and showed significant hepatoprotective activities. The activity of compound 3 was compared with the bifendate (DDB) through oral administration. Compound 3 showed much higher inhibitory effects than bifendate for decreasing AST and ALT activity. The results indicate that compound 3 has strong hepatoprotective activity through suppression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) preduction, reduction of the histological change in the liver, and attenuated of hepatocyte apoptosis confirmed by DNA fragmentation assay.