Preparative Separation of Ginkgolic Acids from the Sarcotesta of Ginkgo biloba L. by β-Cyclodextrin Clathration Coupled with pH-Zone-Refining and Recycling Countercurrent Chromatography

Structure, synthesis, biosynthesis, and activity of the characteristic compounds from Ginkgo biloba L

Covering: 1928-2021Ginkgo biloba L. is one of the most distinctive plants to have emerged on earth and has no close living relatives. Owing to its phylogenetic divergence from other plants, G. biloba contains many compounds with unique structures that have served to broaden the chemical diversity of herbal medicine. Examples of such compounds include terpene trilactones (ginkgolides), acylated flavonol glycosides (ginkgoghrelins), biflavones (ginkgetin), ginkgotides and ginkgolic acids. The extract of G. biloba leaf is used to prevent and/or treat cardiovascular diseases, while many ginkgo-derived compounds are currently at various stages of preclinical and clinical trials worldwide. The global annual sales of G. biloba products are estimated to total US$10 billion. However, the content and purity of the active compounds isolated by traditional methods are usually low and subject to varying environmental factors, making it difficult to meet the huge demand of the international market. This highlights the need to develop new strategies for the preparation of these characteristic compounds from G. biloba. In this review, we provide a detailed description of the structures and bioactivities of these compounds and summarize the recent research on the development of strategies for the synthesis, biosynthesis, and biotechnological production of the characteristic terpenoids, flavonoids, and alkylphenols/alkylphenolic acids of G. biloba. Our aim is to provide an important point of reference for all scientists who research ginkgo-related compounds for medicinal or other purposes.

Isolation of two rare N-glycosides from Ginkgo biloba and their anti-inflammatory activities

Two rare N-β-D-glucopyranosyl-1H-indole-3-acetic acid conjugates, N-[2-(1-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-1H-indol-3-yl)acetyl]-L-glutamic acid (1) and N-[2-(1-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-1H-indol-3-yl)acetyl]-L-aspartic acid (2) were isolated from Ginkgo biloba. The structures were elucidated by analyses of HRMS and NMR spectroscopic data. In addition, a simplified and efficient synthetic route for compounds 1 and 2 is also disclosed to determine the absolute configurations of them. This concise syntheses of compounds 1 and 2 may facilitate studies of the biology of this type alkaloids. Compounds 1 and 2 were also tested for their cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. The biological evaluation showed that compounds 1 and 2 led to the decrease of interleukin (IL)-6, nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 at mRNA level in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells.

An efficient method to obtain anti-inflammatory phenolic derivatives from Scindapsus officinalis (Roxb.) Schott. by a high speed counter-current chromatography coupled with a recycling mode

Herein, we provide an effective separation strategy based on liquid–liquid extraction and two different modes of high speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) for the rapid enrichment and separation of compounds from n-butanol-partitioned samples of S. officinalis. Liquid–liquid extraction of the crude sample was performed using a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate–n-butanol–water with volume ratios of 9 : 0 : 9, 5 : 4 : 9 and 3 : 6 : 9 (v/v), which allowed components with lower polarity and higher polarity to be enriched separately with the first ratio and the other two ratios, respectively. For separation, the conventional and recycling mode HSCCC were combined to develop a strategy for the acquisition of eight phenolic derivatives from the enriched samples, including one new compound, 7-O-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1–4)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1–4)-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl]-5-hydroxy-2-methyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one (5), three caffeoylquinic acid isomers, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid butyl ester (6), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid butyl ester (7), 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid butyl ester (8), salidroside (1), drynachromoside B (2), 3,4-dihydroxy-benzoic acid (3), and 5,7-dihydroxy-2-methyl chromone (4). Recycling HSCCC separation was successfully applied to separate the three isomers after six cycles. Furthermore, all the isolates were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity against nitric oxide (NO) production in vitro, with 6 and 7 showing significant inhibitory effects with IC₅₀ values of 13.8 μM and 17.6 μM, respectively.

Anti-inflammatory phenolic derivatives from S. officinalis by high speed counter-current chromatography.