Alleviative effect of scopolamine­induced memory deficit via enhancing antioxidant and cholinergic function in rats by pinostrobin from Boesenbergia rotunda (L.).

Pinostrobin, a key bioactive compound found in the medicinal plant Boesenbergia rotunda (L.), has been noted for its beneficial biological properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer and anti-amnesia activities. In view of this, the present study purposed to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of pinostrobin in reversing scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment involving oxidative stress and cholinergic function in rats. A total of 30 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=6): Group 1 received vehicle as a control, group 2 received vehicle + scopolamine (3 mg/kg, i.p.), group 3 received pinostrobin (20 mg/kg, p.o.) + scopolamine, group 4 received pinostrobin (40 mg/kg, p.o.) + scopolamine and group 5 received donepezil (5 mg/kg, p.o.) + scopolamine. Treatments were administered orally to the rats for 14 days. During the final 7 days of treatment, a daily injection of scopolamine was administered. Scopolamine impaired learning and memory performance, as measured by the novel object recognition test and the Y-maze test. Additionally, oxidative stress marker levels, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1) expression were determined. Consequently, the findings demonstrated that the administration of pinostrobin (20 and 40 mg/kg) markedly improved cognitive function as indicated by an increase in recognition index and by spontaneous alternation behaviour. Pinostrobin also modulated the levels of oxidative stress by causing a decrease in malondialdehyde levels accompanied by increases in superoxide dismutase and glutathione activities. Similarly, pinostrobin markedly enhanced cholinergic function by decreasing AChE activity and promoting ChAT immunoreactivity in the hippocampus. Additionally, the reduction in GluR1 expression due to scopolamine was diminished by treatment with pinostrobin. The findings indicated that pinostrobin exhibited a significant restoration of scopolamine-induced memory impairment by regulating oxidative stress and cholinergic system function. Thus, pinostrobin could serve as a potential therapeutic agent for the management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Pinostrobin alleviates chronic restraint stress­induced cognitive impairment by modulating oxidative stress and the function of astrocytes in the hippocampus of rats.

Chronic stress has been recognized to induce the alterations of neuronal and glial cells in the hippocampus, and is thus implicated in cognitive dysfunction. There is increasing evidence to indicate that natural compounds capable of exerting neuroprotective and antioxidant activities, may function as potential therapeutic agents for cognitive impairment. The present study examined the neuroprotective effects of pinostrobin from Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) against chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced cognitive impairment associated with the alterations of oxidative stress, neuronal density and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) of astrocytes in the hippocampus. For this purpose, male Wistar rats were administered once daily with pinostrobin (20 and 40 mg/kg, per os) prior to exposure to CRS (6 h/day) for 21 days. The cognitive behaviors, the concentration of malondialdehyde, and the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were determined. Histologically, the alterations in astrocytic GFAP and excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2) in the hippocampus were examined. The results revealed that pinostrobin potentially attenuated cognitive impairment in the Y-maze and in novel object recognition tests, with a reduction in oxidative stress. Furthermore, pinostrobin effectively increased neuronal density, as well as the immunoreactivities of GFAP and EAAT2 in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings indicate that treatment with pinostrobin alleviates chronic stress-induced cognitive impairment by exerting antioxidant effects, reducing neuronal cell damage, and improving the function of astrocytic GFAP and EAAT2. Thus, pinostrobin may have potential for use as a neuroprotective agent to protect against chronic stress-induced brain dysfunction and cognitive deficits.

Highly potent oligostilbene sbLOX-1 inhibitor from Gnetum macrostachyum.

Isolated oligostilbenes from G. macrostachyum exhibited sbLOX-1 inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging from 0.14-11.91 microM. Of these oligostilbenoids, 12 (IC50 0.14 +/- 0.01 microM), 10 (IC50 0.33 +/- 0.11 microM), 11 (IC50 0.49 +/- 0.05 microM) and 7 (IC50 1.03 +/- 0.43 microM) were more active than nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) (P < 0.05) which was the positive control. The enzyme kinetic analysis revealed that 7 and 11 inhibited sbLOX-1 noncompetitively with Ki values of 11.2 and 71.4 nM. Compound 10 inhibited sbLOX-1 through mixed-competitive mechanisms (Ki = 13.8 nM and Ki' 56.7 nM). Moreover, 12 was an uncompetitive inhibitor with a Ki value of 0.8 nM. The inhibitory activity of oligostilbenes did not result from the antioxidant property, as demonstrated by DPPH and 13-HPOD scavenging assays. These compounds also showed ferric reducing capabilities, but had no effect in a Fe(3+)-bound sbLOX-1 model, as indicated by UV spectrophotometric and CD spectroscopic studies.

Feroniellin A-induced autophagy causes apoptosis in multidrug-resistant human A549 lung cancer cells.

During the screening of natural chemicals that can reverse multidrug resistance in human A549 lung cancer cells resistant to etoposide (A549RT-eto), we discovered that Feroniellin A (FERO), a novel furanocoumarin, shows toxicity toward A549RT-eto cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. FERO reduced the expression of NF-κB, leading to downregulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), encoded by MDR1, which eventually sensitized A549RT-eto cells to apoptosis. FERO specifically diminished transcription and promoter activity of MDR1 but did not inhibit the expression of other multidrug resistance genes MRP2 and BCRP. Moreover, co-administration of FERO with Bay11-7802, an inhibitor of NF-κB, accelerated apoptosis of A549RT-eto cells through decreased expression of P-gp, indicating that NF-κB is involved in multidrug resistance. Conversely, addition of Z-VAD, a pan-caspase inhibitor, blocked FERO-induced apoptosis in A549RT-eto cells but did not block downregulation of P-gp, indicating that a decrease in P-gp expression is necessary but not sufficient for FERO-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, we found that FERO also induces autophagy, which is characterized by the conversion of LC3 I to LC3 II, induction of GFP-LC3 puncta, enhanced expression of Beclin-1 and ATG5, and inactivation of mTOR. Furthermore, suppression of Beclin-1 by siRNA reduced FERO-induced apoptosis in A549RT-eto cells and activation of autophagy by rapamycin accelerated FERO-induced apoptosis, suggesting that autophagy plays an active role in FERO-induced apoptosis. Herein, we report that FERO reverses multidrug resistance in A549RT-eto cells and exerts its cytotoxic effect by induction of both autophagy and apoptosis, which suggests that FERO can be a useful anticancer drug for multidrug-resistant lung cancer.

Dipterostilbenosides A and B, oligostilbene glycosides from Dipterocarpus tuberculatus.

From the chemical investigation of the methanolic extract of the roots of the Thai dipterocarp, Dipterocarpus tuberculatus, two new oligostilbene glycosides, dipterostilbenes A (1) and B (2), were isolated together with four known stilbenes. Their structures and relative configurations were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data. From an evaluation of cytotoxic activity against KB and HeLa cell lines, α-viniferin (5) and (-)-hopeaphenol (6) showed potent activity, but less than that of doxorubicin.

Two new cytotoxic isomeric indole alkaloids from the roots of Nauclea orientalis.

A pair of new isomeric indole alkaloids, naucleaorals A (1) and B (2) were isolated from the roots of Nauclea orientalis. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were fully characterized using spectroscopic data, and were tested for their cytotoxicity (HeLa and KB cells) and antimalarial activity. Compound 1 showed significant cytotoxicity to HeLa cells with an IC(50) value of 4.0 µg/mL, while compound 2 exhibited very modest cytotoxicity to both cell lines with IC(50) values of 7.8 and 9.5 µg/mL, respectively. Both compounds proved to be inactive in antimalarial assays (IC(50)>10.00 µg/mL).

Feroniellin B, a new highly potent human platelet aggregation inhibitor from Feroniella lucida.

Human platelet aggregation inhibition by coumarins isolated from Feroniella lucida roots extract was investigated. Of 11 coumarins examined, feroniellin B highly inhibited platelet aggregation induced by ADP with an IC(50) value of 0.287 mm while the standard drug ibuprofen displayed this inhibition with an IC(50) value of 11.2 mm. The presence of feroniellin B is possibly linked to the ethnopharmacological use of F. lucida as a remedy for cardiovascular diseases.

A novel furanocoumarin from Feroniella lucida exerts protective effect against lipid peroxidation.

The protective effect of Feroniella lucida against lipid peroxidation was investigated. Bioassay-guided separation using rat brain as a model led to the isolation of a new antioxidant furanocoumarin named feroniellamin (6) along with five known coumarins. The structure of 6 was characterized by interpretation of spectroscopic data. Feroniellamin inhibited lipid peroxidation with an IC(50) value of 52 microM.

Antioxidant xanthones from Cratoxylum cochinchinense.

A new xanthone named cratoxylumxanthone A (1), together with five known compounds: dulcisxanthone B (2), alpha-mangostin (3), beta-mangostin (4), 2-geranyl-1,3,7-trihydroxy-4-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)xanthone (5) and tectochrystin (6), was isolated from Cratoxylum cochinchinense stems. The structure of new compound was characterized by 1D and 2D NMR techniques. The isolated compounds showed free radical scavenging against DPPH and lipid peroxidation inhibition.