Anticomplement compounds from Polygonum chinense

Cornulacin: a new isoflavone from Cornulaca monacantha and its isolation, structure elucidation and cytotoxicity through EGFR-mediated apoptosis

Chemical investigation of the methanolic extract of Cornulaca monacantha (Amaranthaceae), an annual wild herb collected from North Sinai, Egypt, yielded a new isoflavone cornulacin 1 and five known compounds: N-trans-feruloyltyramine 2, N-trans-feruloyl-3'-methoxytyramine 3, N-trans-caffeoyl tyramine 4, Cannabisin F 5 and (2aS, 3aS) lyciumamide D 6. Using MTT assay, the isolated compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against pancreatic (Panc1) and ovarian (A2780) cancer cell lines. Compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 exhibited promising cytotoxic activity against the tested cells, among which compound 1 (IC50 of 2.1 ± 0.21 μM) was the most active one against A2780 cells, whereas compound 2 (IC50 of 3.4 ± 0.11 μM) was the most effective compound against Panc1 cells. Accordingly, compound 1 was further investigated for its apoptotic induction in A2780 cancer cells using Annexin V/PI staining. Compound 1 significantly stimulated apoptotic ovarian A2780 cancer cells by 45.9-fold and arrested cell proliferation in the S-phase. Such activity was mediated through the upregulation of proapoptotic genes Bax; P53; and caspase 3, 8, and 9 besides the downregulation of the Bcl-2 gene, the anti-apoptotic one. Furthermore, molecular docking investigation demonstrated the strong binding affinity of compound 1 with EGFR active sites, which validated its experimental EGFR enzyme inhibition activity.

Phenylpropanoids from Solanum capsicoides and their anti-inflammatory activity

Two new phenylpropanoids, 4-O-(1''-O-cis-caffeoyl)-β-glucopyran osyl-1-allyl-3-methoxy-benzene (1), 4'-O-(1''-O-cis-caffeoyl)-β-glucopyranosyl-hydroxymegastigm-4-en-3-one (2), together with nine known compounds were obtained from the leaves of Solanum capsicoides. Their structures were elucidated based on spectroscopic methods, and comparing spectral data with those in literature. Meanwhile, their anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated on (LPS)-induced RAW 246.7 cells, and 1, 9, and 10 showed better inhibitory effects with IC₅₀ values of 17.19 ± 1.12, 18.15 ± 0.47, and 19.8 ± 0.95 μM, respectively.

Chemical constituents and their antioxidant activities from the leaves of Synsepalum dulcificum

Synsepalum dulcifificum is an evergreen shrub native of tropical West Africa. It is very effective against a variety of diseases. However, the phytochemical investigation on this plant is limited till now. In our current study, seventeen compounds were isolated and identified from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves. All of the compounds were obtained from S. dulcifificum for the first time. Compounds 4 and 9 were isolated from natural source for the second time. Moreover, the antioxidant activities of compounds 1, 4, 5, 9-11, and 15 were evaluated firstly. Compounds 6, 7, 13, and 14 exhibited significant antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS + assays, suggesting their potential application for an antioxidant drug.

Biologically Active Compounds of Plants: Structure-Related Antioxidant, Microbiological and Cytotoxic Activity of Selected Carboxylic Acids

Natural carboxylic acids are plant-derived compounds that are known to possess biological activity. The aim of this review was to compare the effect of structural differences of the selected carboxylic acids (benzoic acid (BA), cinnamic acid (CinA), p-coumaric acid (p-CA), caffeic acid (CFA), rosmarinic acid (RA), and chicoric acid (ChA)) on the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activity. The studied compounds were arranged in a logic sequence of increasing number of hydroxyl groups and conjugated bonds in order to investigate the correlations between the structure and bioactivity. A review of the literature revealed that RA exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and this property decreased in the following order: RA > CFA ~ ChA > p-CA > CinA > BA. In the case of antimicrobial properties, structure-activity relationships were not easy to observe as they depended on the microbial strain and the experimental conditions. The highest antimicrobial activity was found for CFA and CinA, while the lowest for RA. Taking into account anti-cancer properties of studied NCA, it seems that the presence of hydroxyl groups had an influence on intermolecular interactions and the cytotoxic potential of the molecules, whereas the carboxyl group participated in the chelation of endogenous transition metal ions.

Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of 15 ingredients of Polygonum chinense Linn extract in rats by UHPLC-MS/MS

A rapid and sensitive ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of 15 bioactive ingredients in rat plasma and tissues after oral administration of Polygonum chinense Linn extract (PCE). After addition of internal standards (ISs; rutin and danshensu), plasma and tissue samples were pre-treated by protein precipitation with acetonitrile-ethanol. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent ZORBAX RRHD Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column with gradient elution using a mobile phase composed of methanol and water (containing 0.2% acetic acid) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min^-1 . Mass spectrometric detection was carried out using a mass spectrometer in both positive and negative ion electrospray ionization modes by multiple reaction monitoring. The method provided excellent linearity, and the lower limit of quantification range 0.5-30 ng mL^-1 for all analytes. The intra- and inter-day precision were less than 9.12% and the accuracy ranged from -4.02% to 6.32%, respectively. The mean extraction recovery and matrix effect of analytes and ISs ranged from 83.65% to 109.20%. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of 15 ingredients of PCE in rats.

Isolation, Absolute Configuration, and Biological Activities of Chebulic Acid and Brevifolincarboxylic Acid Derivatives from Euphorbia hirta

Twenty new chebulic acid and brevifolincarboxylic acid derivatives, including eight optically pure or achiral compounds (1-7 and 14) and six pairs of enantiomers (8a/8b-13a/13b), along with nine known analogues (15-23), were isolated from an EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Euphorbia hirta. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were assigned based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD data. Racemic or scalemic mixtures of 8-13 were isolated, and their enantiomers were analyzed by chiral-phase HPLC-ECD measurements. Compound 12 possesses an unprecedented 2H-cyclopenta[de]chromene-2,5(4H)-dione scaffold. Compounds 12, 20, and 23 displayed moderate inhibitory effects against lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in BV-2 microglial cells, while all the isolates exhibited significant DPPH radical scavenging activities with EC₅₀ values of 2.2-15.8 μM.

Two new phenolic glycosides with anti-complementary activity from the roots of Sanguisorba officinalis L

Sanguisorba officinalis L. is a traditional herbal plant that belongs to the genus Sanguisorba and the family Rosaceae. Two new phenolic glycosides (1-2), ten known phenolics (3-12), and six known monoterpenoid glycosides (13-18) were isolated from the roots of S. officinalis using silica gel column and preparative middle pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC). The chemical structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic experiments, including 1D and 2D NMR as well as HR-ESI-MS, and comparison with those reported in the literature. Compounds 3-5, and 13 were isolated from the Rosaceae family and compound 7 was obtained from the genus Sanguisorba for the first time. Additionally, all compounds were evaluated for their anti-complementary activities against the classical pathway. Furthermore, compounds 1, 5, 9, and 14 showed significant anti-complementary activities with the 50% haemolytic inhibition concentrations (CH₅₀) values of 0.40 ± 0.03, 0.57 ± 0.01, 0.51 ± 0.07, and 0.53 ± 0.05 mM, respectively.