Unprecedented diterpenoid dimers with soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitory effect from Euphorbia fischeriana.

Biseuphoids A (1) and B (2), two unprecedented ent-abietane-type diterpenoid dimers linked by monomeric blocks through C-17-C-12' and C-17-C-11', respectively, were isolated from Euphorbia fischeriana, along with their biogenesis related diterpenoid monomers, 17-hydroxyjolkinolide B (3), caudicifolin (4), and fischeriabietane C (5). Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopy assisted by quantum chemical NMR and ECD calculations. The unusual dimeric skeletons are possibly derived from the adduct of diterpenoid monomers through Michael-like reactions. The novel dimers 1 and 2 exhibited inhibitory activities on soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) with IC50 values of 8.17 and 5.61 µM, respectively. Molecular dynamics studies illustrated that both 1 and 2 can occupy the catalytic pocket of sEH by forming stable hydrogen bonds with the key amino acid residues including Gln384, Asn378, Pro361, Ala365, Asn366, and Asn472.

Protostane-type triterpenoids as natural soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors: Inhibition potentials and molecular dynamics.

The inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a promising therapeutic approach to treat inflammation and other disorders. In our present investigation on searching for sEH inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicines, we found that Alisma orientale displayed inhibition of sEH. We constructed a small library of protostane-type triterpenoids (1-25) isolated from A. orientale, and screened their inhibitory activities. Alismanin B (1), 11-deoxy-25-anhydro alisol E (4), 11-deoxy alisol B (5), and 25-O-ethyl alisol A (15) displayed concentration-dependently inhibitory activities against sEH with IC50 values from 3.40 ± 0.57 µM to 9.57 ± 0.88 µM. 11-Deoxy-25-anhydro alisol E (4) and 11-deoxy alisol B (5) were defined as mixed-type competitive inhibitors with Ki values of 12.6 and 3.48 µM, respectively, based on the result of inhibition kinetics. The potential interaction mechanism of 11-deoxy alisol B (5) with sEH was analyzed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics, revealing that amino acid residues Trp336 and Tyr466 were vital for its inhibitory activity.

Two pairs of phenylpropanoid enantiomers from the leaves of Eucommia ulmoides.

Two pairs of phenylpropanoid enantiomers, (+)-(7S,8S)-alatusol D (1a), (-)-(7R,8R)-alatusol D (1b), (-)-(7S,8R)-alatusol D (2a) and (+)-(7R,8S)-alatusol D (2b) were isolated from the leaves of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver. Among them, 1a and 2b were firstly obtained by chiral enantiomeric resolution. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis and the induced CD (ICD) spectrum caused by adding Mo2(AcO)4 in DMSO. All compounds were tested on Hep G2 tumor cell lines. However, none of the compounds showed potential cytotoxic activity against Hep G2 in vitro.

A high-resolution α-glucosidase inhibition profiling for targeted identification of natural antidiabetic products from Lycopodiella cernua (L.) Pic. Serm and their inhibitory mechanism study.

The targeted identification of α-glucosidase inhibitors from the crude ethyl acetate of Lycopodiella cernua (L.) Pic. Serm (L.cernua) was guided by high-resolution inhibition profiling. The α-glucosidase inhibition profiling and HPLC-QTOF-MS showed tannins and serratenes were the corresponding antidiabetic constituents. Two new serratenes named 3ß, 21ß-dihydroxyserra-14-en-24-oic acid-3ß-(4'-methoxy-5'-hydroxybenzoate) (4), 3ß, 21α-dihydroxyserra-14-en-24-oic acid-3ß-(4'-methoxy-5'-hydroxybenzoate) (7), together with two known compounds (5 and 6) were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by HR-ESI-MS and NMR. Compounds 5-7 inhibited the α-glucosidase activity in a non-competitive manner with Ki values ranging from 1.29 to 12.9 µM. The molecular docking result unveiled that 4-7 bound to the residues at the channel site, which enabled to block the substrate access. In addition, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the most active compound 7 and α-glucosidase indicated the 4'-methoxy-5'-hydroxybenzoate group formed the stable hydrogen bonds and pi-pi T-shaped interactions with Arg312, Gln350 and Phe300 residues, while the rings D and E were stabilized by hydrophobic interaction.

Inhibition effect of 1-acetoxy-6α-(2-methylbutyryl)eriolanolide toward soluble epoxide hydrolase: Multispectral analysis, molecular dynamics simulation, biochemical, and in vitro cell-based studies.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) serves as a potential target in inflammation-related diseases. Based on the bioactivity-guided separation, a new sesquiterpenoid inulajaponoid A (1) was isolated from Inula japonica with a sEH inhibitory effect, together with five known compounds, such as 1-O-acetyl-6-O-isobutyrylbritannilactone (2), 6ß-hydroxytomentosin (3), 1ß,8ß-dihydroxyeudesma-4(15),11(13)-dien-12,6α-olide (4), (4S,6S,7S,8R)-1-O-acetyl-6-O-(3-methylvaleryloxy)-britannilactone (5), and 1-acetoxy-6α-(2-methylbutyryl)eriolanolide (6). Among them, compounds 1 and 6 were assigned as mixed and uncompetitive inhibitors, respectively. The result of immunoprecipitation (IP)-MS demonstrated the specific binding of compound 6 to sEH in the complex system, which was further confirmed by the fluorescence-based binding assay showing its equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd = 2.43 µM). The detail molecular stimulation revealed the mechanism of action of compound 6 with sEH through the hydrogen bond of amino acid residue Gln384. Furthermore, this natural sEH inhibitor (6) could suppress the MAPK/NF-κB activation to regulate inflammatory mediators, such as NO, TNF-α, and IL-6, which confirmed the anti-inflammatory effect of inhibition of sEH by 6. These findings provided a useful insight to develop sEH inhibitors upon the sesquiterpenoids.

Biotransformation of 18ß-Glycyrrhetinic Acid by Human Intestinal Fungus Aspergillus niger RG13B1 and the Potential Anti-Inflammatory Mechanism of Its Metabolites.

18ß-Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is a triterpenoid possessing an anti-inflammatory activity in vivo, while the low bioavailability limits its application due to its intestinal accumulation. In order to investigate the metabolism of GA in intestinal microbes, it was incubated with human intestinal fungus Aspergillus niger RG13B1, finally leading to the isolation and identification of three new metabolites (1-3) and three known metabolites (4-6) based on 1D and 2D NMR and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy spectra. Metabolite 6 could target myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD2) to suppress the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway via inhibiting the nuclear translocation of p65 to downregulate its target proteins and genes in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated RAW264.7 cells. Molecular dynamics suggested that metabolite 6 interacted with MD2 through the hydrogen bond of amino acid residue Arg90. These findings demonstrated that metabolite 6 could serve as a potential candidate to develop the new inhibitors of MD2.

Amentoflavone from Selaginella tamariscina as a potent inhibitor of gut bacterial ß-glucuronidase: Inhibition kinetics and molecular dynamics stimulation.

Gut bacterial ß-glucuronidase (GUS) plays a pivotal role in the metabolism and reactivation of a vast of glucuronide conjugates of both endogenous and xenobiotic compounds in the gastrointestinal tract of human, which has been implicated in certain drug-induced gastrointestinal tract (GI) toxicity in clinic. Inhibitors of gut microbial GUS exhibited great potentials in relieving the drug-induced GI toxicity. In this study, Selaginella tamariscina and its major biflavonoid amentoflavone (AMF) were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli GUS. Two selective probe substrates for GUS (a specific fluorescent probe substrate for GUS, DDAOG and a classical drug substrate for GUS, SN38G) were used in parallel for charactering the inhibition behaviors. Both the extract of S. tamariscina and its major biflavonoid AMF displayed evident inhibitory effects on GUS, and the IC50 values of AMF against GUS mediated DDAOG and SN-38G hydrolysis were 0.62 and 0.49 µM, respectively. Inhibition kinetics studies indicated that AMF showed mixed type inhibition for GUS-mediated DDAOG hydrolysis, while displayed competitive type inhibition against GUS-mediated SN-38G hydrolysis, with the Ki values of 0.24 and 1.25 µM, respectively. Molecular docking studies and molecular dynamics stimulation results clarified the role of amino acid residues Leu361, Ile363, and Glu413 in the inhibition of AMF on GUS. These results provided some foundations for the potential clinical utility of S. tamariscina and its major biflavonoid AMF for treating drug-induced enteropathy.

Investigation of the inhibitory effect of protostanes on human carboxylesterase 2 and their interaction: Inhibition kinetics and molecular stimulations.

Carboxylesterase 2 (CES 2), plays a pivotal role in endobiotic homeostasis and xenobiotic metabolism. Protostanes, the major constituents of the genus Alisma, display a series of pharmacological activities. Despite the extensive studies of pharmacological activities, the investigation on inhibitory effects of protostanes against CES 2 is rarely reported. In this study, the inhibitory activities of a library of protostanes (1-25) against human CES 2 were investigated for the first time, using 6,8-dichloro-9,9-dimethyl-7-oxo-7,9-dihydroacridin-2-yl benzoate (DDAB) as the specific fluorescent probe for human CES 2. Compounds 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 25 showed strong inhibitory effects towards CES 2. For the most potent compounds 1, 7, 13, and 25, the inhibition kinetics were further investigated, and these four protostanes were all uncompetitive inhibitors against human CES 2 with the inhibition constant (Ki) values ranging from 0.89 µM to 2.83 µM. In addition, molecular docking and molecular dynamics stimulation were employed to analyze the potential interactions between these protostanes and CES 2, and amino acid residue Gln422 was identified to play a crucial role in the strong inhibition of protostanes towards CES 2.

The inhibition effect of uncarialin A on voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel subunit alpha-1C: Inhibition potential and molecular stimulation.

Cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension and cardiac failure, have become the most major and global cause for threatening human health in recent years. Uncaria rhynchophylla as a traditional Chinese medicine is widely used to treat hypertension for a long history, whereas its medicinal effective components and potential action mechanism are uncertain. Therefore, twenty-four alkaloids (1-24) isolated from U. rhynchophylla were assayed for their relaxant effects against phenylephrine (Phe)-induced contraction of rat mesenteric arteries. Among them, we surprisingly found that uncarialin A (21) exhibited most potent relaxation effect against Phe-induced contraction (IC50 = 0.18 µM) in the manner of independent on endothelium-derived vasorelaxing factors and endothelium. All the experiments including measurement of Ca2+ in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) by fluorescence microscopy, whole-cell path clamp, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics, demonstrated that uncarialin A (21) could significantly inhibit L-type calcium channel subunit alpha-1C (Cav1.2) via the hydrogen bond interaction with amino acid residue Met1186, allowing the inhibition of Ca2+ inward current. Our results suggested that uncarialin A (21) could be served as a potential L-type Cav1.2 blocker in the effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

The study of inhibitory effect of natural flavonoids toward ß-glucuronidase and interaction of flavonoids with ß-glucuronidase.

ß-Glucuronidase plays a vital role in the metabolism of drugs and endogenous substance. Herein, we assayed the inhibitory effects of thirty-six flavonoids (1-36) toward ß-glucuronidase (Escherichia coli) using the probe reaction of DDAO-glu hydrolysis. The results showed that kushenol X (6), (2S)-farrerol (10), 5,7,2'-trihydroxy-8,6'-dimethoxy flavone (20), demethylbellidifolin (31), and gentisin (32) exhibited potent inhibitory activities toward ß-glucuronidase with the IC50 values of 2.07 ± 0.26, 8.95 ± 0.74, 4.97 ± 0.61, 0.91 ± 0.11, and 0.68 ± 0.10 µM, respectively. Furthermore, the inhibition kinetics studies indicated that demethylbellidifolin (31) and gentisin (32) exhibited mixed-type inhibiton toward ß-glucuronidase, the Ki values were caculated to be 4.05 and 2.02 µM, respectively. Additionally, the circular change of dichroism (CD) spectrum verified the interaction between demethylbellidifolin (31) and gentisin (32) with ß-glucuronidase; following by the molecular docking and molecular dynamics further revealed the potential interaction amino acid site in ß-glucuronidase. All our findings not only developed some potent novel ß-glucuronidase inhibitors but also indicated the potential herb drug interaction (HDI) effects of flavonoids with some clinical drugs which had enterohepatic circulation and further revealed the vital pharamcophoric requirement of natural flavonoids for ß-glucuronidase inhibition activity.

Two pairs of phenolic enantiomers from the leaves of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver.

Two pairs of new phenolic enantiomers, (+)-eucophenolic A (1a), (-)-eucophenolic B (1b), (-)-eucophenolic C (2a), (+)-eucophenolic D (2b) were isolated from the leaves of Eucommia ulmodies Oliver by chiral enantiomeric resolution. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis. The absolute configurations of 1a/1b and 2a/2b were determined by empirical method and the calculated ECD and OR. All compounds were tested for Hep G2 tumour cell lines. However, no compounds showed potential cytotoxic activities against Hep G2 in vitro.

Megastigmane glycosides from leaves of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver with ACE inhibitory activity.

Four new megastigmane glycosides, eucomegastigsides A-D (2, 3, 5 and 7), together with three known megastigmane glycosides, (6R, 7E, 9R)-9-hydroxy-4, 7-megastigmadien-3-one-9-O-[α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(l→6)-ß-d-glucopyranoside (1), foliasalacioside B1 (4) and eleganoside A (6), were isolated from the leaves of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver. Their anti-hypertensive effect was investigated in vitro based on the inhibition of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) using HPLC. The results showed that the isolates (2, 3, 4, 5, 7) had moderate inhibitory effects on ACE in vitro compared with captopril.