Anti-nociceptive substances from the roots of Angelica acutiloba.

Anti-nociceptive constituents of the Chinese crude drug Toki (the roots of Angelica acutiloba var. acutiloba Kitagawa) were investigated by means of chemical fractionation and bioassay. Seven active compounds that inhibit AcOH-induced writhing in mice have been isolated from Toki for the first time and identified as falcarinol, falcarindiol, falcarinolone (polyacetylenes), choline, scopoletin, umbelliferone and vanillic acid. Among these, the three polyacetylenes were found to be most active in the writhing test. Falcarindiol and choline also showed anti-nociceptive activities in the retrograde injection test of bradykinin into a carotid artery on rats.

The production of antraquinones in callus cultures of Cassia tora.

Callus cultures were extablished from the seedlings of Cassia tora on a chemically defined medium supplemented with 2, 4-D and kinetin. A phytochemical investigation of callus tissues demonstrated the presence of chrysophanol, emodin, physcion, and an unidentified pigment, all of which are contained in the seeds of the original plant. The maximum content of antraquinones on a fresh weight basis was 0.334 percent, which is higher than the content of total anthraquinones in the dry seeds. Furthermore, it was shown that the production of these compounds is influenced by the concentrations of auxin and cytokinin supplied to the culture medium.