A new guaiane type sesquiterpene from Torilis japonica

Anti-inflammatory effect of torilidis fructus ethanol extract through inhibition of Src

CONTEXT

Torilidis fructus, fruits of Torilis japonica Decadolle (Umbelliferae), is a medicinal herb traditionally used as a pesticide, an astrictive, or a medicine for various inflammatory diseases.

OBJECTIVES

Due to the lack of pharmacological studies on this herbal medicine, we explored the inhibitory activity of torilidis fructus on the macrophage-mediated inflammatory response using its ethanol extract (Tf-EE).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The Griess assay and prostaglandin (PGE₂) ELISA assay were conducted with Tf-EE (0-75 µg/mL) and LPS (1 µg/mL) treated RAW264.7 cells in cultured media. Tf-EE pretreated RAW264.7 cells were incubated with LPS for 6 h and semi-quantitative PCR was performed. Reporter gene assays, overexpression of target enzymes and immunoblotting were performed on macrophages to determine the molecular targets of Tf-EE.

RESULTS

Tf-EE markedly suppressed the inflammatory response of macrophages, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) and PGE₂ production with IC₅₀ values of 35.66 and 62.47 µg/mL, respectively. It was also found that Tf-EE reduced the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 by 80%. Nuclear translocation and activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB (p65 and p50) were declined by 60% and 30% respectively, and their regulatory events including the phosphorylation of AKT, IκBα, Src, and the formation of complexes between Src and p-p85 were also recognized to be diminished.

CONCLUSIONS

The signalling events managed by Src and p85 complex seemed to be critically involved in Tf-EE-mediated anti-inflammatory response. This might suggest that Tf-EE exhibited anti-inflammatory effects through Src-targeted inhibition of NF-κB.

Guaiane-type sesquiterpenoid glucosides from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis

Two new guaiane-type sesquiterpenoid glucosides (1 and 2) were isolated from the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis. Their structures were elucidated to be (1R,7R,10S)-11-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-4-guaien-3-one (1) and (1R,7R,10S)-7-hydroxy-11-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-4-guaien-3-one (2) by one- and two-dimensional NMR techniques ((1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY), MS, CD spectrometry and chemical methods.

Antimicrobial activity of torilin isolated from Torilis japonica fruit against Bacillus subtilis

Torilis japonica fruit has been used in therapeutic antimicrobial treatments in Korea and China since ancient times, but there is still little information on the mechanism underlying this activity. We found that the ethanol extract of T. japonica fruit showed excellent antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 spores and vegetative cells. The crude ethanol extract (75%) reduced the spore concentration by 3 log cycles and the vegetative cell concentration to lower than the detection level (reduction in spore concentration by more than 6 orders of magnitude) at a concentration of 1% (w/v). The ethanol extract of T. japonica fruit was fractionated into n-hexane (H) and a water layer. The active antimicrobial compound was isolated and purified from the hexane layer, and identified as torilin (5-[1-(acetyloxy)-1-methylethyl]-3,8-dimethyl-2-oxo-1,2,4,5,6,7,8,8a-octa-hydroazulen-6-yl(2E)-2-methylbut-2-enoate; C(22)H(32)O(5)). Torilin immediately reduced vegetative cells counts by 5 to 6 orders of magnitude, and reduced spores counts by 1 order of magnitude. The integrity of structures such as the inner, middle, and outer layers of the coat and the cortex, protoplast membrane, and core are vital to spores. Torilin functions as a surfactant with hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties related to denaturalization of various proteins. The distortion of coat proteins due to direct binding polar groups of spore coats with hydrophilic groups of torilin may be responsible for the observed rapid inactivation of bacterial spores.

Torilin fromTorilis japonica (Houtt.) DC. Blocks hKv1.5 channel current

Torilin was purified from Torilis japonica (Houtt.) DC., and its effects on a rapidly activating delayed rectifier K+ channel (hKv1.5), cloned from human heart and stably expressed in Ltk- cells, as well as the corresponding K+ current (the ultrarapid delayed rectifier, I(KUR)) were assessed in human atrial myocytes. Using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique, torilin was found to inhibit the hKv1.5 current in time and voltage-dependent manners, with an IC50 value of 2.51+/-0.34 microM at +60 mV. Torilin accelerated the inactivation kinetics of the hKv1.5 channel, and slowed the deactivation kinetics of the hKv1.5 current, resulting in a tail crossover phenomenon. Additionally, torilin inhibited the hKv1.5 current in a use-dependent manner. These results strongly suggest that torilin is a type of open-channel blocker of the hKv1.5 channel.

Guaiane sesquiterpenoids from Torilis japonica and their cytotoxic effects on human cancer cell lines

A new compound 2 and two known guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the methylene chloride-soluble fraction of the methanolic extract of the fruits of Torilis japonica (Umbelliferae) through repeated silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Their chemical structures were elucidated as torilin (1), 11-acetoxy-8-angeloyloxy-1beta-hydroxy-4-guaien-3-one (1beta-hydroxytorilin, 2), and 11-acetoxy-8-angeloyloxy-1alpha-hydroxy-4-guaien-3-one (1alpha-hydroxytorilin, 3) by spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1-3 exhibited cytotoxicity against human A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT15 tumor cells.