New Isocoumarin and Pyrone Derivatives from the Chinese Mangrove Plant Rhizophora mangle-Associated Fungus Phomopsis sp. DHS-11.

Mangrove-associated fungi are important sources for the discovery of new bioactive natural products. Three new isocoumarins (1-3) and one new pyrone derivative (4) were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth of the mangrove endophytic fungus Phomopsis sp. DHS-11. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (one-dimensional and two-dimensional) and mass spectrometry were used to determine the structures of these new compounds. The absolute configurations for the new isocoumarins 1-3 were determined by comparing their experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, while the configuration for the new pyrone-derivative 4 was tentatively solved by comparison of its 13C NMR data with reported data. In the biological activity test, compounds 1 and 3 showed cytotoxic activity against HeLa cells with IC50 values of 11.49 ± 1.64 µM and 8.70 ± 0.94 µM, respectively. The initial structure and activity relationship (SAR) analysis revealed that the length of the side chain at C-3 for isocoumarin-type compounds 1-3 could affect the cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. Compound 4 exhibited cytotoxic activities against human hepatoma cells HepG2 with an IC50 value of 34.10 ± 2.92 µM. All compounds have no immunosuppressive activity.

Physical Growth Status and Feeding Methods of Chinese Infants With Cleft Lip With or Without Cleft Palate Under 1 Year of Age.

Objectives: Malnutrition is a characteristic feature of cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P). This study aims to retrospectively quantify the physical growth status, evaluate the feeding methods, and identify the possible correlation of CL/P types with growth failure. Methods: The length and weight of 508 infants with CL/P and 118 healthy infants were recorded at the date of admission. The weight-for-age (W/A), length-for-age (L/A), and body mass index-for-age (BMI) of the infants were calculated. Results: The L/A values were significantly lower in the infants with cleft lip (CL, 123 cases) and cleft lip with palate (CLP, 122 cases) than those of the control infants (p < 0.01). The W/A values of the infants with CP (263 cases) and CLP were significantly lower than those of the control infants (p < 0.05). However, the BMI index was not significantly different between any of the studied groups and the controls. In the mixed feeding group, the infants with CL and CP showed significantly lower L/A (p < 0.05) and W/A (p < 0.05), respectively. Conclusion: Physical growth issues were more common in the infants with CP and CLP. Because this was a retrospective study, the foods supplied to the patients were not strictly uniform, therefore, a prospective study with unified food supplement may be needed to confirm these findings.