Karatavicinol a, a new anti-ulcer sesquiterpene coumarin from Ferula sinkiangensis

Medicinal plant resin natural products: structural diversity and biological activities

Covering: up to the mid of 2023Plants secrete defense resins rich in small-molecule natural products under abiotic and biotic stresses. This comprehensive review encompasses the literature published up to mid-2023 on medicinal plant resin natural products from six main contributor genera, featuring 275 citations that refer to 1115 structurally diverse compounds. The scope of this review extends to include essential information such as the racemic nature of metabolites found in different species of plant resins, source of resins, and revised structures. Additionally, we carefully analyze the reported biological activities of resins, organizing them based on the their structures. The findings offer important insights into the relationship between their structure and activity. Furthermore, this detailed examination can be valuable for researchers and scientists in the field of medicinal plant resin natural products and will promote continued exploration and progress in this area.

A new sesquiterpene coumarins from Ferula bungeana Kitagawa

A new sesquiterpene coumarin, bungeanin A (1), together with four known sesquiterpene coumarins, were isolated from the whole plants of Ferula bungeana Kitagawa. The structure of bungeanin A was elucidated by analysis of its spectroscopic data, including UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, and extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.

Chemistry, Bioactivity, and Prediction of the Quality Marker (Q-Marker) of Ferula Plants in China: A Review

The genus of Ferula belongs to the family Apiaceae, and many Ferula plants are used as traditional Chinese medicines. Ferula plants were initially identified as early as the "Newly Revised Materia Medica" written in the Tang Dynasty (AD 659), and several of them are also recognized as the traditional medicines of the Uygur, Kazakh, and Mongolian. Ferula plants are distributed in China, Russia, India, Africa, Central Asia, and other places. Currently, the chemical components derived from Ferula plants are mainly coumarins, sesquiterpenes, and volatile oils. Ferula plants can exhibit diverse pharmacological activities such as anti-allergy, analgesia, relieving cough, anticoagulation, and anti-tumor. Therefore, this article summarized the domestic research conducted on the genus Ferula, appropriately combines the research status of the foreign genus Ferula, and describes the chemical composition, biological activity, toxicity issues, and Q-marker prediction. In addition, all the related studies about the genus Ferula are summarized by analyzing the various databases such as CNKI, Wanfang data, PubChem and SciFinder.

Ferula sinkiangensis (Chou-AWei, Chinese Ferula): Traditional Uses, Phytoconstituents, Biosynthesis, and Pharmacological Activities

Ferula is the third largest genus of the Apiaceae family, its species are utilized as a remedy for diverse ailments all over the world. F. sinkiangensis K. M. Shen (Chou-AWei, Chinese Ferula) is mainly found in Xin-jiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Traditionally, it is utilized for treating various illnesses such as digestive disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, wound infection, baldness, bronchitis, ovarian cysts, intestinal worms, diarrhea, malaria, abdominal mass, cold, measles, and bronchitis. It can produce different classes of metabolites such as sesquiterpene coumarins, steroidal esters, lignans, phenylpropanoids, sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, coumarins, organic acid glycosides, and sulfur-containing compounds with prominent bioactivities. The objective of this work is to point out the reported data on F. sinkiangensis, including traditional uses, phytoconstituents, biosynthesis, and bioactivities. In the current work, 194 metabolites were reported from F. sinkiangensis in the period from 1987 to the end of 2022. Nevertheless, future work should be directed to conduct in vivo, mechanistic, and clinical assessments of this plant`s metabolites to confirm its safe usage.

New Sulfoxide-Containing Derivatives from the Resin of Ferula sinkiangensis

Four undescribed sulfoxide-containing derivatives, sinkiangenoxides A and B, (2Z, 4E)-sinkiangenoxide C, and (2E, 4E)-sinkiangenoxide C (1:  - 4: ), and one known compound, 1-(methylthio)propyl (E)-1-propenyl disulfide (5: ), were isolated from the resin of Ferula sinkiangensis. Their structures were determined based on spectroscopic methods, including IR, UV, HRESIMS, NMR, and CD analysis. Compounds 2:  - 4: showed moderate cytotoxic activities against four human cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values ranging from 15.0 to 40.3 µM. Sinkiangenoxide B (2: ) was shown to induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells. In addition, compound 5: effectively attenuated lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide release and TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 expression.

Metabolic Profile, Bioactivities, and Variations in the Chemical Constituents of Essential Oils of the Ferula Genus (Apiaceae)

The genus Ferula is the third largest and a well-known genus of the Apiaceae family. It is categorized in the Peucedaneae tribe and Ferulinae subtribe of the Apiaceae family. At present, about 180 Ferula species have been reported. The genus is mainly distributed throughout central and South-West Asia (especially Iran and Afghanistan), the far-East, North India, and the Mediterranean. The genus Ferula is characterized by the presence of oleo-gum-resins (asafoetida, sagapenum, galbanum, and ammoniacum) and their use in natural and conventional pharmaceuticals. The main phytochemicals present in the genus Ferula are as follows: coumarin, coumarin esters, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones, monoterpene, monoterpene coumarins, prenylated coumarins, sulfur-containing compounds, phytoestrogen, flavonoids and carbohydrates. This genus is considered to be a valuable group of medicinal plants due to its many different biological and pharmacological uses as volatile oils (essential oils). Numerous biological activities are shown by the chemical components of the essential oils obtained from different Ferula species. Because this genus includes many bioactivities such as antimicrobial, insecticidal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, etc., researchers are now focusing on this genus. Several reviews are already available on this particular genus, including information about the importance and the uses of all the phytochemicals found in the species of Ferula. Despite this, no review that specifically provides information about the biological activities of Ferula-derived essential oils, has been published yet. Therefore, the present review has been conducted to provide important information about the chemical profile, factors affecting the chemical composition, and biological activities of essential oils of the Ferula species.

Sesquiterpene coumarins from Ferula sinkiangensis K.M.Shen and their cytotoxic activities

Five undescribed sesquiterpene coumarins, one undescribed coumarin derivative, and twenty-five known analogues, were isolated from the resin of Ferula sinkiangensis K.M.Shen. The planar structures and relative configurations of the undescribed compounds were determined by NMR experiment and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations were established by Electrostatic Circular Dichroism method. Among these analogues, Sinkiangenol E showed the best cytotoxic activity against HeLa cervical cancer cells. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining indicated that Sinkiangenol E induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. Cell cycle analysis showed Sinkiangenol E arrested cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Western blot results proved that Sinkiangenol E affected apoptosis-related and cell cycle regulation-related protein expression by activating the MAPK pathway.

Pharmacological and Therapeutic Aspects of Plants from the Genus Ferula: A Comprehensive Review

Inspired by nature, humankind has been able to attain significant achievements in the drug and food industries. Particularly, medicinal plants are a rich source of medicinal, cosmetic, sanitary, and aromatic substances. Genus Ferula from the Apiaceae family is a plant genus that possesses over 170 species, which have been carefully documented with regard to their medicinal properties. Ferula spp. affects many body organs, and their respective functions, in humans, such as the immune system, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary, endocrine, respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous system, bone (skeleton), and teeth. In spite of the benefits, ferulosis (Ferula toxicity) is an important aspect of Ferula consumption in humans and animals. Hemorrhagic problems and infertility are important signs of ferulosis. In this review, we have described all of the effects of the active ingredients of Ferula spp. and their mechanisms of actions, when known, based on an extensive literature review. Thus, our review opens a window of the benefits of Ferula as a phyto-pharmaceutical and its therapeutic applications in pharmacy, dentistry, and medicine.

Insecticidal, cytotoxic and anti-phytopathogenic fungal activities of chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Ferula sinkiangensis

A new rare monoterpene coumarin (1) and its two known analogues (2-3), together with two sesquiterpenes (6-7) and ferulic acid (8) were isolated from the aerial parts of Ferula sinkiangensis. The structure of new compound was established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR data and HRESIMS data interpretation. Insecticidal, cytotoxic and anti-phytopathogenic fungal activities of isolated compounds were evaluated against third-instar larvae of Spodoptera exigua and its cell line, and three plant pathogenic fungi respectively. Compounds 1-3 and 6-7 were found to be more effective contact toxicity to S. exigua with the corrected mortality values of 38.89%-58.89% at 10 μg/larva doses for 24 h. Further studies showed that compounds 3 and 6 exhibited cell growth inhibitory activity against S. exigua cell line with the EC₅₀ values of 22.78 and 14.64 µM for 72 h. In addition, compound 6 exhibited potent antifungal activity with MICs = 16-32 µg/mL.

Apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest induced by Sinkiangenone B, a novel phenylpropanoid derivative from the resin of Ferula sinkiangensis K. M. Shen

A new compound from Ferula sinkiangensis has the potential to treat gastric cancer through apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest.

Profiling of Coumarins in Peucedanum palustre (L.) Moench Populations Growing in Finland

The coumarin composition of Peucedanum palustre (L.) Moench populations growing in Finland was investigated. A total of 132 flowering P. palustre specimens from 43 locations in southern and central Finland were collected, divided into root, stem, leaf, and umbel samples, and analyzed by HPLC. HPLC coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry was used to aid the identification of coumarins. A total of 13 coumarin-structured compounds were quantitatively analyzed from the samples. The coumarin profile of root samples was found to differ from the aerial plant parts. The main coumarins in roots were oxypeucedanin and columbianadin. In aerial parts, peulustrin isomers were the most abundant coumarin components. Umbels and leaves also contained a considerable amount of umbelliprenin, which was only found in traces in roots. Based on hierarchical cluster analysis of the coumarin profiles, some populations shared common characteristics. The most distinct property connecting certain populations was their high peulustrin content. Another notable common property between some populations was the high umbelliprenin content in aerial plant parts. Some populations were clustered together due to their low overall coumarin content.