Melanogenesis Inhibitory Activity of Sesquiterpenes from Canarium ovatum Resin in Mouse B16 Melanoma Cells

Biological properties of active compounds from Ageratina adenophora

Ageratina adenophora is an invasive weed with widespread distribution. During the last several decades, many biologically active secondary metabolites have been isolated and characterized from A. adenophora, some of them having inspired the research and development of new therapeutic agents. This review mainly focuses on biological properties of A. adenophora, including the toxicity, antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal, antiviral activities and others. In addition, the current limits and potentials of A. adenophora and its extracts are also discussed.

Biomolecular analyses enable new insights into ancient Egyptian embalming

The ability of the ancient Egyptians to preserve the human body through embalming has not only fascinated people since antiquity, but also has always raised the question of how this outstanding chemical and ritual process was practically achieved. Here we integrate archaeological, philological and organic residue analyses, shedding new light on the practice and economy of embalming in ancient Egypt. We analysed the organic contents of 31 ceramic vessels recovered from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara^1,2. These vessels were labelled according to their content and/or use, enabling us to correlate organic substances with their Egyptian names and specific embalming practices. We identified specific mixtures of fragrant or antiseptic oils, tars and resins that were used to embalm the head and treat the wrappings using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses. Our study of the Saqqara workshop extends interpretations from a micro-level analysis highlighting the socio-economic status of a tomb owner^3-7 to macro-level interpretations of the society. The identification of non-local organic substances enables the reconstruction of trade networks that provided ancient Egyptian embalmers with the substances required for mummification. This extensive demand for foreign products promoted trade both within the Mediterranean^8-10 (for example, Pistacia and conifer by-products) and with tropical forest regions (for example, dammar and elemi). Additionally, we show that at Saqqara, antiu and sefet-well known from ancient texts and usually translated as 'myrrh' or 'incense'^11-13 and 'a sacred oil'^13,14-refer to a coniferous oils-or-tars-based mixture and an unguent with plant additives, respectively.

Hedycaryol – Central Intermediates in Sesquiterpene Biosynthesis, Part II

The known sesquiterpenes that arise biosynthetically from hedycaryol are summarised. Reasonings for the assignments of their absolute configurations are discussed. The analysis provided here suggests that reprotonations at the C1=C10 double bond of hedycaryol are directed toward C1 and generally lead to 6–6 bicyclic compounds, while reprotonations at the C4=C5 double bond occur at C4 and result in 5–7 bicyclic compounds. Read more in the Review by H. Xu and J. S. Dickschat (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202200405).

Inhibition of melanogenesis by β-caryophyllene from lime mint essential oil in mouse B16 melanoma cells

OBJECTIVE

Volatile essential oils of mint species are used for cosmetics and in skin care products. In this study, we evaluated the main chemical components of the lime mint and the anti-melanogenic properties of its main components.

METHODS

The essential oil was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The anti-melanogenic effects of mint essential oil and β-caryophyllene were investigated in B16F10 murine melanoma cells.

RESULTS

The main components of lime mint essential oil were found to be D-limonene (41.10%), D-carvone (8.58%), δ-selinene (6.73%) and β-caryophyllene (6.24%). The lime mint essential oil reduced melanin production in a dose-dependent manner in murine B16F10 cells. β-Caryophyllene, one of the main compounds in lime mint essential oil, could reduce melanogenesis by down-regulating the expression of MITF, TRP-1, TRP-2 and tyrosinase, resulting in a decrease in melanin content decrease.

CONCLUSION

These results reveal that lime mint essential oil and β-caryophyllene are considered to be valuable as potential skin-whitening agents.

Clinical efficacy of 9-oxo-10, 11-dehydroageraphorone extracted from Eupatorium adenophorum against Psoroptes cuniculi in rabbits

BACKGROUND

Animal acariasis is one of the important veterinary skin diseases. Chemical drugs have been widely used to treat and control this kind of disease. But many chemicals control could increase resistance in target species, toxicity and environmental hazards. We found that the 9-oxo-10, 11-dehydroageraphorone (euptox A) extracted from E. adenophorum has strong toxicity against P. cuniculi in vitro, but the in vivo acaricidal actions of euptox A have yet to be investigated.

RESULTS

A 14-day experiment was performed using rabbits that were naturally infested with P. cuniculi on a farm. Rabbits were randomly divided into five groups; animals in groups A, B and C were treated in each ear topically with 4.0 ml of 2.0 and 1.0 g/L (w/v) euptox A, respectively. Animals in groups D and E were treated with ivermectin (by injection; positive controls) and glycerol with water only (by embrocation; negative controls), respectively. Each rabbit was treated twice with separate treatments on days 0 and 7. Rabbits were observed daily and detailed examinations were performed on days 0, 7 and 14, to inspect the presence or absence of mites and scabs/crusts. Seven days after the initial treatment, the mean clinical scores (presence of scabs/crusts) decreased from 3.48, 3.37, 3.43 and 3.45 to 0.37, 0.42, 0.78 and 0.38 in the ears of animals in groups A, B , C and D, respectively, which were similar to the observations recorded in the positive control rabbits. However, the clinical score for negative control rabbits did not increase significantly (P > 0.05) during the experiment, and this changed from 3.32 to 3.37 in the ears, and there were no significant differences in clinical efficacy between left and right ears. After two treatments (0 and 7 d), the rabbits in groups A, B, C and D had recovered completely 14 days after the last treatment and no recurrences of infection were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that euptox A was potent compounds for the effective control of animal P. cuniculi in vivo.

Acaricidal activity of 9-oxo-10,11-dehydroageraphorone extracted from Eupatorium adenophorum in vitro

The acaricidal activity of the 9-oxo-10,11-dehydroageraphorone (euptox A), a cadenine sesquiterpene from Eupatorium adenophorum (E. adenophorum) against Sarcoptes scabiei and Psoroptes cuniculi was tested in vitro. A complementary log-log (CLL) model was used to analyze the data of the toxicity tests in vitro. The results showed euptox A had strong toxicity against mites, killing all S. scabiei at 3 and 4 mg/ml (m/v) concentration, while 4 mg/ml euptox A was also found to kill all P. cuniculi within a 4 h period. Similarly, 2, 3 and 4 mg/ml concentration of euptox A had strong toxicity against S. scabiei, with median lethal time (LT50) values at 0.687, 0.526, 0.326 h, respectively. 3 mg/ml and 4 mg/ml showed strong acaricidal action against P. cuniculi; the LT50 values were 0.693 and 0.493 h, respectively. The median lethal concentration (LC50) values were 1.068 mg/ml for Scabies mite and 0.902 mg/ml for P. cuniculi in 2 h. The results indicate that euptox A has strong acaricidal activity and may exploit as novel drugs for the effective control of animal acariasis.

Natural sesquiterpenoids

This review covers the isolation, structural determination, synthesis and chemical and microbiological transformations of natural sesquiterpenoids. The literature from January to December 2012 is reviewed, and 471 references are cited.