A New Lignan from Cinnamomum burmanii

Lignans from the leaves of Styrax japonicus and their anti-inflammatory activity

Five novel lignans, namely styraxjaponica A-E (1-5), together with eight known compounds (6-13) were isolated from the leaves of Styrax japonicus Siebold & Zucc. Their chemical structures were characterized by extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR, HRESIMS spectroscopic analysis as well as by comparison to the literature. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were further determined by quantum chemical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations powered by time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effects of compounds 1-5 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells were also evaluated by measuring nitric oxide (NO) concentrations. All compounds displayed significant anti-inflammatory activity without affecting cell viability in vitro.

Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of the genus Cinnamomum (Lauraceae): A review

Species of Cinnamomum exhibit excellent economic and medicinal value, and have found use in traditional medicine, are consumed as a spice, as well as being cultivated as landscape plants. Investigations into the pharmacological activities of the genus Cinnamomum revealed that it manifested a wide range of pharmacological properties including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antitumor, anti-diabetic and anti-obesity, immunoregulation, insecticidal and acaricidal, cardiovascular protective, cytoprotective, as well as neuroprotective properties both in vivo and in vitro. In the past five years, approximately 306 chemical constituents have been separated and identified from the genus Cinnamomum, covering 111 terpenes, 44 phenylpropanoids, 51 lignans, 17 flavonoids, 53 aromatic compounds, 17 aliphatic compounds, four coumarins, two steroids. This article highlights the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of the few studied taxa of Cinnamomum through searching for the pieces of literature both at home and abroad, which would provide a reference for the pharmaceutical research and clinical application of this genus.