Withanolides from aerial parts of Nicandra physalodes

An Integrated Strategy of UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS Combined with Bioactivity-Based Molecular Networking for Identification of Antitumoral Withanolides from Athenaea fasciculata (Vell.) I.M.C. Rodrigues & Stehmann

BACKGROUND

Athenaea fasciculata, a Brazilian native species from the Solanaceae family, is recognized as a promising source of bioactive withanolides, particularly Aurelianolide A and B, which exhibit significant antitumoral activities. Despite its potential, research on the chemical constituents of this species remains limited. This study aimed to dereplicate extracts and partitions of A. fasciculata to streamline the discovery of bioactive withanolides.

METHODS

Using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), various extracts-including n-hexane, methanol, and ethanol-were analyzed, and their mass spectrometry data were processed through the GNPS platform for the generation of molecular networking. The results indicated that crude extracts displayed comparable cytotoxicity against Jurkat cells, by treatment at 150 µg/mL, while alcoholic extracts achieved approximately 80% inhibition of K562 cells and K562-Lucena 1 at the same concentration. Notably, the dichloromethane partition exhibited the highest cytotoxicity across leukemia cell lines, particularly against Jurkat cells (IC50 = 14.34 µg/mL). A total of 22 compounds were annotated by manual inspection and different libraries, with six of them demonstrating significant cytotoxic effects.

CONCLUSIONS

This research underscores the therapeutic potential of A. fasciculata and highlights the effectiveness of integrating advanced analytical methods in drug discovery, paving the way for further exploration of its bioactive compounds.

Screening of promising chemotherapeutic candidates from plants against human adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (VIII): six new withanolides from Physalis philadelphica

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is a malignancy of mature peripheral T-lymphocytes caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I). There are an estimated 5-20 million HTLV-1-infected individuals worldwide. Conventional chemotherapeutic regimens used against other malignant lymphomas have been administered to patients with ATL, but the therapeutic outcomes of acute and lymphoma-type ATL remain extremely poor. In the course of our screening program for novel chemotherapeutic candidate compounds from plants against two human T-cell leukemia virus I-infected T-cell lines (MT-1 and MT-2), we screened 16 extracts obtained from different parts of 7 Solanaceae plants. We identified that the extracts of Physalis pruinosa and P. philadelphica showed potent anti-proliferative activity in MT-1 and MT-2 cells. In our previous study, we have isolated withanolides from extract of aerial parts of P. pruinosa and examined their structure-activity relationships. In addition, we are also investigating further structure-activity relationships about other withanolides from Solanaceae plants (Withania somnifera, Withania coagulans, Physalis angulate, Nicandra physalodes, Petunia hybrida, and Solanum cilistum). In this study, we attempted to isolate their active compounds against MT-1 and MT-2 from extracts of P. philadelphica. We identified 13 withanolides, including six newly isolated compounds [24R, 25S-4β, 16β, 20R-trihydroxy-1-oxowitha-2-en-5β, 6 β -epoxy-22,26-olide (1), 4β, 7β,20R-trihydroxy-1-oxowitha-2-en-5β, 6β -epoxy-22,26-olide (2), 17β,20 S-dihydroxywithanone (3), 2,3-dihydro-3β-methoxy-23β-hydroxywithaphysacarpin (4), 3-O-(4-rhamnosyl)glucosyl-physalolactone B (5), and 17R, 20R, 22S, 23S, 24R, 25R-4β, 5α, 6β, 20β, 22α -tetrahydroxy-16β, 23-diepoxy-1-oxowitha-2-en-26, 23-olide (6)], from the extract and examined the structure-activity relationships. The 50% effective concentration of withaphysacarpin (compound 7) [MT-1: 0.10 µM and MT-2: 0.04 µM] was comparable to that of etoposide [MT-1: 0.08 µM and MT-2: 0.07 µM]. Therefore, withanolides might be promising candidates for the treatment of ATL.

Ethnobotanical uses and phytochemical, biological, and toxicological profiles of Datura metel L.: A review

Datura metel L., a recognized poisonous plant in the Solanaceae family, is widely distributed in the world. Traditionally, D. metel is used in many diseases, including neurological and heart diseases; fever; catarrh; pain; diarrhea; skin diseases; chronic bronchitis; asthma; digestive disorders; and so on. It possesses many important phytochemicals that can be used to treat various types of diseases. This review aims at summarizing the traditional uses, phytochemical, biological, and toxicological profiles of D. metel based on the database reports. For this, an up-to-date (till March 20, 2023) search was made in the databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, and MedLine, with relevant keywords for the published evidence. Findings suggest that the plant has many traditional uses, such as a cure for madness, epilepsy, psoriasis, heart diseases, diarrhea, mad dog bites, indigestion, etc. It possesses various important phytochemicals, including withanolides, daturaolone, datumetine, daturglycosides, ophiobolin A, baimantuoluoline A, and many others. D. metel has many important biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, insecticidal, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, analgesic, anti-pyretic, neurological, contraceptive, and wound healing capacity. In conclusion, the toxic plant, D. metel, can be considered a potential source of phyto-therapeutic lead compounds.

Nicandra physalodes Extract Exerts Antiaging Effects in Multiple Models and Extends the Lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans via DAF-16 and HSF-1

The development of safe and effective therapeutic interventions is an important issue for delaying aging and reducing the risk of aging-related diseases. Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of aging and other complex diseases are desired due to their multiple components and targets. Through screening for effects on lifespan of 836 Chinese herbal medicine extracts, Nicandra physalodes extract (HL0285) was found to exhibit lifespan extension activity in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). In further experiments, HL0285 improved healthspan, enhanced stress resistance, and delayed the progression of neurodegenerative diseases in C. elegans. Additionally, it ameliorated senescence in human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 cells) and reversed liver function damage and reduced senescence marker levels in doxorubicin- (Dox-) induced aging mice. In addition, the longevity effect of HL0285 in C. elegans was dependent on the DAF-16 and HSF-1 signaling pathways, as demonstrated by the results of the mutant lifespan, gene level, and GFP level assays. In summary, we discovered that HL0285 had an antiaging effect in C. elegans, MRC-5 cells, and Dox-induced aging mice and deserves to be explored in the future studies on antiaging agents.

Four new withanolides with anti-inflammatory activity from Datura inoxia Mill. leaves

Four previously undescribed withanolides, datinolides A-D (1-4) and eight known withanolides (5-12), were separated from the 70% ethyl alcohol extract of Datura inoxia Mill. leaves. All structures were clarified by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis. Furthermore, all withanolides were assessed for their anti-inflammatory activity and results showed that 1 exhibited a fairly good suppression against nitric oxide generation in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells (IC₅₀ = 10.33 ± 1.53 μM).

Natural withanolides, an update

Covering: March 2010 to December 2020. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2011, 28, 705This review summarizes the latest progress and perspectives on the structural classification, biological activities and mechanisms, metabolism and pharmacokinetic investigations, biosynthesis, chemical synthesis and structural modifications, as well as future research directions of the promising natural withanolides. The literature from March 2010 to December 2020 is reviewed, and 287 references are cited.

Separation and identification of tubocapsanolide MAP and tubocapsunolide A, and the structure-activity relationship of their anti-TNBC activity

A new withanolide, tubocaapsanolide MAP (MeOH addition product) (1), as well as its known precursor tubocaapsanolide A (2) were obtained from Tubocapsicum anomalum (Solanaceae). Compound 1 was a MeOH addition product transformed from compound 2 during the process of separation using MeOH as solvent. The structures of the two withanolides including absolute configuration were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and X-ray single crystal diffraction. In the test of anti-triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) effects, tubocapsusanlide A (2) showed potent inhibitory activity against four human TNBC cell lines, while tubocapsusanlide MAP (1) exhited significantly weaker inhibitory than that of tubocapsusanlide A (2), indicating that α-β unsaturated carbonyl unit contained in 2 was closely related to its anti-TNBC activity. The potent bioactivity displayed significant developing potential of withanolides as anti-TNBC lead compounds or drug candidates. And this report may provide some useful guidances for the preparation and bioactivity research of withanolides.

Three new C23 steroids from the leaves and stems of Nicandra physaloides

Nicandra physaloides is a medicinal and edible plant and has been used as traditionally herbal medicine to treat various diseases in folk. Its characteristic withanolides, a kind of ergostane-type steroids, are reported to display plentiful biological activities that many explain the effect of N. physaloides to some extent. Thus, to further find bioactive steroids, the stems and leaves of N. physaloides were investigated and three new C23 steroids, nic-physatones I-J (1-2), and nic-physatone S (3), together with a known C25 steroid, nic 17 (4), were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by extensive 1D NMR and 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, ¹H-¹H COSY, and ROESY), UV and MS analyses. Compounds 1-3 possess a rare C23 steroid skeleton. Among them, compound 3 represented the first example of a C23 steroid featuring a benzene ring (D ring). The isolated compounds showed no cytotoxic activity.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of the medicinal plant Nicandra physalodes (Linn.) Gaertn. (Solanaceae)

Nicandra physalodes is an alien plant in southern China, possessing important medicinal values. In this study, we sequenced complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of N. physalodes and investigated its phylogenetic relationship in the family Solanaceae. The total length of the chloroplast genome was 156,729 bp, with 37.8% overall GC content and exhibited typical quadripartite structure, a pair of IRs (inverted repeats) of 25,529 bp was separated by a small single copy (SSC) region of 18,560 bp and a large single copy (LSC) region of 87,111 bp. The cp genome contained 113 genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated N. physalodes was closely related to Datura stramonium.

Withanolides from the leaves of Datura metel L

Twelve previously undescribed withanolides, including three uncommon chemotypes of aglycones, daturafolisides (J-L), and six common structures, daturafolisides (M-U), as well as one known withanolide were isolated from the leaves of Datura metel L. Their structures were elucidated by interpretation of spectroscopic data (1D, 2D NMR and CD), HRESIMS experiments and comparison with published data for similar compounds. These isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activities on nitric oxide production. The IC₅₀ values of daturafoliside L, daturafoliside M, and daturafoliside T were between 9.37 and 18.64 μM, while daturafoliside K, daturafoliside R, and daturametelin A had IC₅₀ values of 22.83-33.36 μM. Herein, three proposed biosynthetic pathways for uncommon structures daturafolisides J-L were discussed. These constituents found in the leaves of Datura metel L. may be a good source of bioactive substances, making contributions to the sustainable utilization of this plant resources.

Cytotoxic and other withanolides from aeroponically grown Physalis philadelphica

Eleven withanolides including six previously undescribed compounds, 16β-hydroxyixocarpanolide, 24,25-dihydroexodeconolide C, 16,17-dehydro-24-epi-dioscorolide A, 17-epi-philadelphicalactone A, 16-deoxyphiladelphicalactone C, and 4-deoxyixocarpalactone A were isolated from aeroponically grown Physalis philadelphica. Structures of these withanolides were elucidated by the analysis of their spectroscopic (HRMS, 1D and 2D NMR, ECD) data and comparison with published data for related withanolides. Cytotoxic activity of all isolated compounds was evaluated against a panel of five human tumor cell lines (LNCaP, ACHN, UO-31, M14 and SK-MEL-28), and normal (HFF) cells. Of these, 17-epi-philadelphicalactone A, withaphysacarpin, philadelphicalactone C, and ixocarpalactone A exhibited cytotoxicity against ACHN, UO-31, M14 and SK-MEL-28, but showed no toxicity to HFF cells.

Three new withanolides from the calyces of Nicandra physaloides

Chemical investigation on ethyl acetate extract of the calyces of Nicandra physaloides resulted in the isolation of three new withanolides named as nicphysatone A (1), nicphysatone B (2), nicphysatone C (3), together with five known withanolides, nic 17 (4), nic 7 (5), nic 2 (6), withahisolide G (7) and nicaphysalin B (8). The structures were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic experiments. The discovery enriched the diversity of natural withanolides and could serve as scaffolds for the synthesis of more potent modified withanolides.