A new megastimane sesquiterpenoid from the leaves of Cinnamomum cassia.

A new megastimane sesquiterpenoid, cassianol A (1), and five known analogues (2-6) were isolated from the leaves extract of Cinnamomum cassia. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. All the isolates were isolated from C. cassia for the first time. The anti-inflammatory activities of compounds 1-6 were evaluated against nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages.

Natural product therapies in chronic kidney diseases: An update.

Chronic kidney disease is one of the major worldwide public health problems. Traditional Chinese medications have been widely used for chronic kidney disease treatment. As the development of modern phytochemistry technology, natural products have been isolated from traditional Chinese medications, which provide a more precise method for the investigation of traditional Chinese medications. In this article, we selected eight natural products from traditional Chinese medications for chronic kidney disease therapy to summarize the recent advances for the development of new medications.

Coumarin derivatives from Ainsliaea fragrans and their anticoagulant activity.

Coumarin derivatives are an important class of C6-C3 plant metabolites that show a variety of bioactivities. Currently, most clinical anticoagulant agents are coumarins, such as warfarin, dicoumarol and acenocoumarol, and patients taking these drugs must be monitored for adverse reactions. In a search for safe and effective anticoagulant compounds from Chinese herbal medicine, a screening procedure on the whole plant of Ainsliaea fragrans was performed. The phytochemical investigation of this plant afforded five new coumarin derivatives, including a pair of natural 4-hydroxycoumarin enantiomers (1), a pair of coumarin enantiomers with a rare polycyclic pyrano[3-2c] carbon skeleton (2) and a 7-hydroxycoumarin derivative (3), together with 5 known biogenetically related compounds (4-8). Enantioseparation of 1 and 2 produced optically pure compounds 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, we evaluated the anticoagulant activity of all isolates via activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT) and prothrombin time (PT) assays in vitro and in vivo. Of note, compound 3 displayed potent anticoagulant activity and no significant hepatic or renal toxicity, which could make it a promising agent for further preclinical evaluation for preventing abnormal blood clotting.

Five new secondary metabolites produced by a marine-associated fungus, Daldinia eschscholzii.

Five new compounds, including a benzopyran ribonic glycoside, daldiniside A (1), two isocoumarin ribonic glycosides, daldinisides B (2) and C (3), and two alkaloids, 1-(3-indolyl)-2R,3-dihydroxypropan-1-one (4) and 3-ethyl-2, 5-pyrazinedipropanoic acid (5), along with five known compounds (6-10), were isolated from the EtOAc extract of the marine-associated fungus, Daldinia eschscholzii. Their structures were elucidated by extensive physicochemical and spectroscopic properties, besides comparison with literature data. The absolute configurations of compounds 1-3 were corroborated by chemical transformation, GC analysis and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Meanwhile, the absolute configuration of compound 4 and the planar structure of compound 6 were also determined based on the X-ray diffraction analysis. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1-10, antifungal and anti-HIV activities of compounds 1-5 and the in vitro assay for glucose consumption of compounds 1-3 were done in the anti-diabetic model, whereas none showed obvious activity.

New norclerodane diterpenoids from the tubers of Dioscorea bulbifera.

Phytochemical investigations of the tubers of Dioscorea bulbifera L. resulted in the isolation of nine norclerodane diterpenoids, including two new compounds, diosbulbins N (1) and P (3), a new naturally occurring compound, diosbulbin O (2), and six known ones, diosbulbins A-D, F and G (4-9). Their structures were established by spectroscopic and chemical methods. The absolute stereochemistry of 1 was determined by a modified Mosher's method, and the absolute configuration of 2 was determined by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis with CuKα irradiation. Compounds 1-3 were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxicity against five human cancer cell lines.

Immunosuppressive constituents from Urtica dentata Hand.

A novel biscoumarin, 6,6',7,7'-tetramethoxyl-8,8'-biscoumarin (1), was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Urtica dentata Hand, together with five known compounds named as 7,7'-dihydroxy-6,6'-dimethoxy-8,8'-biscoumarin (2), 7,7'-dimethoxy-6,6'-biscoumarin (3), scoparone (4), vanillic acid (5), and daucosterol (6). Structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis including 2D NMR experiments. Compounds 1 and 2 were confirmed to be a rare carbon-carbon linked symmetrical biscoumarin. Compounds 1-4, especially 1 (IC(50) = 8.18 x 10(- 5) mol/l), showed potent immunosuppressive activities as determined by the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay for lymphocyte proliferation. Also, in the FACS analysis, 1 (IC(50) = 5.19 x 10(- 4) mol/l) promoted the differentiation of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T regulatory cells distinctly compared to the normal control. Thus, 1 possessed specific immunosuppressive property by eliciting T regulatory cells, which may provide a potential treatment strategy for autoimmune diseases.

[Studies on the chemical constituents of Toricellia angulata var. intermedia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Toricellia angulata var. intermedia. METHODS: The constituents were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatography and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. RESULTS: Twelve compounds including beta-sitoterol (1), 7-hydroxy-3-ethylphthalide (2), 3beta-methoxy-stigmast-7-ene (3), stigmast-5-ene (4), trans-p-methylcinnamaldehyde (5), stigmate-7-en-3beta-ol (6), o. p-dimethoxybenzoicacid (7), beta-daucosterol (8), ursolicacid (9), stearic acid (10), docosanoic acid (11), palmitic acid (12) were isolated and identified from this plant. CONCLUSION: All the compounds are isolated from the plant for the first time, compounds 3 -7, 10 -12 are isolated from this genus for the first time.

Phenolic glucosides from the leaves of Pieris japonica.

The aim of the study is to investigate chemical constituents of the leaves of Pieris japonica. The isolation and purification of the constituents were performed by various chromatography and spectral analysis. Three new phenolic glucosides, erythro-syringoylglycerol 4-O-beta-D-glucoside (1), 1-(2-beta-D-glucopyranoxyl-4-methoxyl-6-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxyl-l-propanone (3), erythro-l-(4-hydroxyl-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-[4-(3-beta-D-glucopyranoxypropyl)-2 ,6-dimethoxyphenoxy]-1, 3-propanediol (4), along with five known phenolic glucosides, syringoylglycerol 8-O-beta-D-glucoside (2), magnolenin C (5), syringaresinol mono-beta-D-glucoside (6), 3-(4-hydroxyl-3-methyphenyl)-1 -propanol-l-O-beta-D-glucoside (7) and 3, 5-dimethoxyl-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 4-O-beta-D-glucoside (8) were isolated and identified from the plant leaves. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited significantly (P <0.01) the proliferation of murine T and B cells at concentration of 1 x 10(-6) mol L(-1), in vitro.

New sesquiterpene and phenolic glucosides from Saussurea involucrata.

One new guaiane-type sesquiterpene glucoside (1) and one new phenolic glucoside (2) were isolated from the whole herb of Saussurea involucrata. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods, mainly 1D and 2D NMR, and mass spectral analysis.

Dihydrochalcones from the leaves of Pieris japonica.

Six new dihydrochalcones, 3-hydroxyasebotin (5), asebogenin 2'-O-beta-D-ribohexo-3-ulopyranoside (6), 2' '-acetylasebotin (7), 3',4,5'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxydihydrochalcone 3',5'-di-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (8), and pierotins A (9) and B (10), along with four known dihydrochalcones, phloretin (1), phlorizin (2), asebogenin (3), and asebotin (4), were isolated from the leaves of Pieris japonica. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis including HMQC, HMBC, NOESY, and X-ray crystal diffraction. Compounds 1, 3-5, and 7-10 inhibited the proliferation of murine B cells and compounds 5 and 10 inhibited the proliferation of murine T cells in vitro significantly.

5-Fluorouracil derivatives from the sponge Phakellia fusca.

5-Fluorouracil derivatives were isolated from the marine sponge Phakellia fusca collected around the Yongxing Island of the Xisha Islands in the South Sea of China. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral analysis and X-ray diffraction.