New icetexane diterpenes with intestinal α-glucosidase inhibitory and free-radical scavenging activity isolated from Premna tomentosa roots

A review on natural phenylbutanoid attractants: Occurrence, distribution, and role in nature, especially in relation to Dacini fruit fly behavior and pollination

The natural occurrence, distribution (within a plant) and roles of four phenylbutanoid compounds (anisyl acetone, cue-lure, raspberry ketone and zingerone) are elucidated for the Asia-Pacific and Oceania regions. These phenylbutanoids may act individually or in combination to attract true fruit fly males belonging to a tribe Dacini of subfamily Dacinae (Diptera: Tepritidae). Of special interest are the mutualistic interactions between the Dacini fruit fly males and the tropical daciniphilous (attracting exclusively Dacini fruit flies) orchids - leading to cross pollination for the orchids and enchanced mating success for the flies. When offered to male flies, anisyl acetone and cue-lure are generally converted to raspberry ketone. Upon consumption, raspberry ketone and zingerone are individually sequestered in the male rectal (pheromonal) gland unchanged. Attracted male flies readily imbibe the phenylbutanoid(s) in the floral synomone to compliment the endogenously synthesized male sex pheromonal components - to enhance attraction of conspecific females during courtship as well as attract conspecific males to form 'leks'. The phenylbutanoid(s) may also act as an allomone to deter vertebrate predators, especially geckos, besides possessing antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Cue-lure, raspberry ketone and zingerone are important attractants/lures used in pest surveillance and mass trapping under the integrated pest management (IPM) program against quarantine Dacini fruit fly pest species, particularly Bactrocera tryoni and Zeugodacus cucurbitae.

Recent Developments with Icetexane Natural Products

Icetexane diterpenoids are a diverse family of natural products sourced from several species of terrestrial plants. Icetexanes exhibit a broad array of biological activities and together with their complex 6-7-6 tricyclic scaffolds, they have piqued the interest of synthetic organic chemists, natural products chemists, and biological investigators over the past four decades and were reviewed 13 years ago. This review summarizes icetexane natural products isolated since 2009, provides an overview of new synthetic approaches to the icetexane problem, and proposes an additional classification of icetexanes based on novel structures that are unlike previously isolated materials.

Potential of Diterpenes as Antidiabetic Agents: Evidence from Clinical and Pre-Clinical Studies

Diterpenes are a diverse group of structurally complex natural products with a wide spectrum of biological activities, including antidiabetic potential. In the last 25 years, numerous diterpenes have been investigated for antidiabetic activity, with some of them reaching the stage of clinical trials. However, these studies have not been comprehensively reviewed in any previous publication. Herein, we critically discussed the literature on the potential of diterpenes as antidiabetic agents, published from 1995 to September, 2021. In the period under review, 427 diterpenes were reported to have varying degrees of antidiabetic activity. Steviol glycosides, stevioside (1) and rebaudioside A (2), were the most investigated diterpenes with promising antidiabetic property using in vitro and in vivo models, as well as human subjects. All the tested pimaranes consistently showed good activity in preclinical evaluations against diabetes. Inhibitions of α-glucosidase and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP 1B) activities and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma (PPAR-γ) agonistic property, were the most frequently used assays for studying the antidiabetic activity of diterpenes. The molecular mechanisms of action of the diterpenes include increased GLUT4 translocation, and activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent signaling pathways. Our data revealed that diterpenes hold promising antidiabetic potential. Stevioside (1) and rebaudioside A (2) are the only diterpenes that were advanced to the clinical trial stage of the drug discovery pipeline. Diterpenes belonging to the abietane, labdane, pimarane and kaurane class have shown promising activity in in vitro and in vivo models of diabetes and should be further investigated.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of (20S,24R)-epoxy-dammarane-3β,12β,25-triol derivatives as α-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibitors

The dammarane triterpenoid (20S,24R)-epoxy-dammarane-3β,12β,25-triol obtained from Cyclocarya paliurus in our previous study showed inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase in vitro with an inhibitory ratio of 32.2% at the concentration of 200 μM. In order to reveal the structure-activity relationships (SARs) and get more active compounds, 42 derivatives of (20S,24R)-epoxy-dammarane-3β,12β,25-triol were synthesized by chemical modification on the hydroxyls (C-3 and C-12), rings A and E, and assayed for their α-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibitory activities. Two compounds (8, 26) increased activity against α-glucosidase, and four compounds (8, 15, 26, 42) significantly inhibited PTP1B. It was noted that compounds 8 and 26 could inhibit both α-glucosidase and PTP1B as dual-target inhibitors with IC₅₀ values of 489.8, 467.7 μM (α-glucosidase) and 319.7, 269.1 μM (PTP1B). Compound 26 was revealed to be a mix-type inhibitor on α-glucosidase and a noncompetitive-type inhibitor on PTP1B based on enzyme kinetic study. Furthermore, compound 42 could selectively inhibited PTP1B as a mix-type inhibitor with IC₅₀ value of 134.9 μM, which was 2.5-fold higher than the positive control, suramin sodium (IC₅₀ 339.0 μM), but not inhibit α-glucosidase.

A New Flavanone as a Potent Antioxidant Isolated from Chromolaena odorata L. Leaves

Chromolaena odorata L. (Asteraceae) is one of the tropical plants which is widely used as traditional medicines for diabetes and soft tissue wounds treatment in some regions in East Indonesia. The present study was aimed at determining the bioactive compounds of C. odorata leaves. The methanol and ethyl acetate extracts of C. odorata leaves have the inhibitory activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radicals as well as α-glucosidase rat intestine enzyme. A new flavanone was isolated from the methanol extract and elucidated as 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,6'-dimethoxyflavanone or, namely, odoratenin (1) together with two known compounds: isosakuranetin (2) and subscandenin (3). The antioxidant activity of odoratenin (1) exhibited very potent ABTS radical inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ value of 23.74 μM which is lower than that of trolox (IC₅₀ 31.32 μM) as a positive control. The result showed that a new flavanone, odoratenin (1), should be potential as an antioxidant source.

Heteroxenia Ghardaqensis Extract Protects Against DNA Damage in Streptozotocin-Induced Experimental Diabetes

DNA damage is correlated to type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its complications via oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic effect of Heteroxenia ghardaqensis extract on streptozotocin (STZ) induced-diabetes and how far can this extract attenuate DNA damage in this model. Forty male albino rats (160-180 g) were used in this study and divided into four groups: control, diabetic, diabetic rats received H. ghardaqensis extract (30 mg/kg body weight/day) orally for four weeks and diabetic rats received H. ghardaqensis extract (60 mg/kg body weight/day) orally for four weeks. After the experimental period, fasting blood sugar and serum cholesterol were determined. Urinary 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as a marker of DNA damage was estimated by reversed phase (HPLC). Liver and kidney nitic oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated. Pancreatic tissues were histopathologicaly examined. Our results suggested that diabetes mellitus is accompanied by elevation of DNA damage that enhances the tendency to mutagens and reduce the efficacy of DNA repair. H. ghardaqensis extract appeared to be effective against the oxidative stress induced by STZ which may be due to sesquiterpenoids and diterpenes compounds that scavenge free radicals and increase the antioxidant enzymes as appeared in attenuation of DNA damage.

Momilactones A and B Are α-Amylase and α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

Momilactones A (MA) and B (MB) are the active phytoalexins and allelochemicals in rice. In this study, MA and MB were purified from rice husk of Oryza sativa cv. Koshihikari by column chromatography, and purification was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS), and ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. By in vitro assays, both MA and MB exerted potent inhibition on α-amylase and α-glucosidase activities. The inhibitory effect of MB on these two key enzymes was greater than that of MA. Both MA and MB exerted greater α-glucosidase suppression as compared to that of the commercial diabetic inhibitor acarbose. Quantities of MA and MB in rice grain were 2.07 ± 0.01 and 1.06 ± 0.01 µg/dry weight (DW), respectively. This study was the first to confirm the presence of MA and MB in refined rice grain and reported the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the two compounds. The improved protocol of LC-ESI-MS in this research was simple and effective to detect and isolate MA and MB in rice organs.

Isolation, identification and bioactivities of abietane diterpenoids from Premna szemaoensis

Investigation of the leaves and stems of Premna szemaoensis resulted in the isolation of twelve new abietane diterpenoids, szemaoenoids A–L (1–12), together with four known abietane diterpenoids (13–16). The structures involved two rearranged-abietane skeletons: 17(15 → 16)-abeo-abietane (7, 10–12, 14 and 15) and 17(15 → 16),18(4 → 3)-diabeo-abietane (1–6, 13 and 16). The structures of the new compounds were established mainly by analyzing NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of 1, 3 and 10 were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In bioactivity assays, compounds 11, 12, 14 and 15 were active against two human colon cancer cell lines (HCT-116 and HT-29) with IC₅₀ values ranging from 8.8 to 34.3 μM, and compounds 10, 13 and 14 exhibited effective free radical scavenging activity with IC₅₀ values ranging from 35.6 to 41.5 μM by DPPH experiment.

Active abietane diterpenoids with two rearranged-abietane skeletons: 17(15 → 16)-abeo-abietane and 17(15 → 16),18(4 → 3)-diabeo-abietane were isolated from Premna szemaoensis.

Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological aspects of the genus Premna: a review

CONTEXT

The genus Premna (Lamiaceae), distributed throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands, is used in folk medicine primarily to treat inflammation, immune-related diseases, stomach disorders, wound healing, and skin diseases.

OBJECTIVES

This review exhaustively gathers available information on ethnopharmacological uses, phytochemistry, and bioactivity studies on more than 20 species of Premna and critically analyzes the reports to provide the perspectives and directions for future research for the plants as potential source of drug leads and pharmaceutical agents.

METHODS

A literature search was performed on Premna species based on books of herbal medicine, major scientific databases including Chemical Abstract, Pubmed, SciFinder, Springerlink, Science Direct, Scopus, the Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ethnobotanical databases.

RESULTS

More than 250 compounds have been isolated and identified from Premna species, comprising of diterpenoids, iridoid glycosides, and flavonoids as the most common secondary metabolites, followed by sesquiterpenes, lignans, phenylethanoids, megastigmanes, glyceroglycolipids, and ceramides. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted to evaluate the biological and pharmacological properties of the extracts, and isolated compounds of Premna species with antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antihyperglycaemia, and cytotoxic activities.

CONCLUSION

The bioactive compounds responsible for the bioactivities of most plants have not been well identified as the reported in vivo pharmacological studies were mostly carried out on the crude extracts. The isolated bioactive components should also be further subjected to more preclinical studies and elaborate toxicity study before clinical trials can be pursued.

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of Essential Oil from Premna microphylla Turczaninow

Premna microphylla Turczaninow, an erect shrub, was widely used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat dysentery, appendicitis, and infections. In this study, the essential oil from P. microphylla Turcz. was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC (Gas Chromatography) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer). Fifty-six compounds were identified in the oil which comprised about 97.2% of the total composition of the oil. Major components of the oil were blumenol C (49.7%), β-cedrene (6.1%), limonene (3.8%), α-guaiene (3.3%), cryptone (3.1%), and α-cyperone (2.7%). Furthermore, we assessed the in vitro biological activities displayed by the oil obtained from the aerial parts of P. microphylla, namely the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. For this, the IC₅₀ value was estimated to be 0.451 mg/mL. The essential oil of P. microphylla exhibited considerable antibacterial capacity against Escherichia coli with an MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) value of 0.15 mg/mL, along with noticeable antibacterial ability against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus with an MIC value of 0.27 mg/mL. However, the essential oil did not show significant activity against fungus. The oil was tested for its cytotoxic activity towards HepG2 (liver hepatocellular cells) and MCF-7 Cells (human breast adenocarcinoma cell line) using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide) assay, and exerted cytotoxic activity with an IC₅₀ of 0.072 and 0.188 mg/mL for 72 h. In conclusion, the essential oil from P. microphylla is an inexpensive but favorable resource with strong antibacterial capacity as well as cytotoxic activity. Thus, it has the potential for utilization in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Therapeutic Potential of Essential Oils Focusing on Diterpenes

Among all plant derivates, essential oils (EOs) have gained the attention of many scientists. Diterpenes, a family of components present in some EO, are becoming a milestone in the EOs world. The goal of this review is to describe a scenario of diterpenes taking into health-consumption deportment. Previous studies revealed that diterpenes have antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, cytotoxic, anticancer, antigenotoxic, antimutagenic, chemopreventive, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, immunostimulatory, organoprotective, antidiabetic, lipid-lowering, antiallergic, antiplatelet, antithrombotic, and antitoxin activities. In conclusion, diterpenes may be an immense featuring concern in pharmaceutical consumption from a drug discovery point of view. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A novel diterpene skeleton: identification of a highly aromatic, cytotoxic and antioxidant 5-methyl-10-demethyl-abietane-type diterpene from Premna serratifolia

Premna serratifolia Linn. (syn: . P. corymbosa (Burm. f.) Merr., P. integrifolia L. and P. obtusifolia R. Br.) is a member of the Verbenaceae family that is extensively used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine in India. As part of our continuous pharmacological and phytochemical studies on medicinal plants, we have screened the methanolic extracts of leaves, root bark (RB) and root wood of P. serratifolia for cytotoxic activity against two cancer cell lines: SHSY-5Y neuroblastoma and B16 melanoma cells. The RB extract that showed promising activity was fractionated using solvents of increasing polarity followed by a combination of Sephadex LH-20 column and Combiflash chromatography as well as HPLC to afford the active principle. Comprehensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D NMR (COSY, HMQC, HMBC, NOESY) and MS analysis revealed the identity of the isolated compound as 11,12,16-trihydroxy-2-oxo-5-methyl-10-demethyl-abieta-1[10],6,8,11,13-pentene that appears to be a novel compound based on a new diterpene skeleton. The cytotoxic activity of the isolated compound was 21 and 23 times higher than the crude extract against the SHSY-5Y and B16 cells, respectively. The novel compound also possesses in vitro antioxidant effects as evidenced by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging effect where an IC50 value of 20.4 ± 1.3 μM was obtained. In comparison, the positive control, caffeic acid, showed an IC50 value of 14.4 ± 1.6 μM.