Alkaloids of Uncaria pteropoda. Isolation and structures of pteropodine and isopteropodine

DABCO-promoted highly diastereo- and regioselective construction of C-3 functionalized spirooxindoles via [3 + 2] cycloaddition of 2-aryl/heteroarylidene-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-diones with N-2,2,2-trifluoroethylisatin ketimines at ambient conditions

The application of 2-aryl/heteroarylidene-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione as an activated olefin source in the DABCO-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition with N-2,2,2-trifluoroethylisatin ketimines has been disclosed. This highly efficient 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction offered a variety of trifluoro methyl group bearing spiro-pyrrolidine linked oxindoles with four consecutive stereocentres in good to excellent yield and excellent diastereoselectivity. The synthetic practicality of the protocol was established by demonstrating the enantioselective construction of spiro-pyrrolidine-oxindoles with two vicinal spiro-quaternary chiral centres in good yield excellent enantioselectivity (>90% ee) by using ultralow loading of quinine as the catalyst at room temperature.

Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Diastereoselective Domino Reaction of Ene-Ynamide with Trimethylsilyl Cyanide to Construct Spiroindolines

The Zn(OTf)₂-catalyzed domino reaction of enamide-ynamides in the presence of trimethylsilyl cyanide as an external nucleophile to construct spirocyclic indolines was developed. This domino reaction involved cyclization of enamide to ynamide to generate 4',5'-dihydrospiro[indoline-3,3'-pyrrol]-1'-ium followed by cyanide addition to produce spiroindolopyrrolidines with good diastereoselectivity.

Regio- and Stereoselective Synthesis of a New Series of Spirooxindole Pyrrolidine Grafted Thiochromene Scaffolds as Potential Anticancer Agents

A series of new spiro-heterocycles engrafted spirooxindole/pyrrolidine/thiochromene scaffolds was synthesized by the three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions in a fully controlled regio- and stereo-selective fashion. Condensation of several substituted isatin derivatives with L-proline generated the azomethine ylides which subsequently reacted with chalcones based thiochromene scaffold, and finally afforded the target spiro-compounds. This simple protocol furnished a structurally complex, biologically relevant spiro-heterocycles in good yields through a one-pot process. All synthesized chalcone-based thiochromene, along with the spirooxindole/pyrrolidine/thiochromene scaffolds, were tested for their anticancer activity against four cancer cell lines (PC3, HeLa, MCF-7, and MDA-MB231). Toxicity of these compounds was also evaluated against human fibroblast BJ cell line, and they appeared to be not cytotoxic. For the prostate cancer (PC3) cell line, the most active hybrid, among synthesized series, was compound (7f, IC50 = 8.7 ± 0.7 µM). The most potent spirooxindole/pyrrolidine/thiochromene hybrid against cervical (HeLa) cancer cells was compound (7k, IC50 = 8.4 ± 0.5 µM) having chlorine and p-trifluoromethyl substituents attached to phenyl rings. Finally, against the MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell lines, compound (7d) was the most active member of this series (IC50 = 7.36 ± 0.37, and 9.44 ± 0.32 µM, respectively).

Characteristic component profiling and identification of different Uncaria species based on high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection tandem ion trap and time of flight mass spectrometry coupled with rDNA ITS sequence

Uncaria is a multi-source herb and its species identification has become a bottleneck in quality control. To study the identification method of different Uncaria species herbs through HPLC-MS coupled with rDNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (rDNA ITS) sequence, both plant morphological traits and molecular identification were used to determine the species of every collected Uncaria herb. The genetic analysis of different Uncaria species was performed using their rDNA ITS sequence as a molecular marker. Meanwhile, the phylogenetic relationships of 22 samples from six Uncaria species were divided and classified clearly. By optimizing the chromatographic conditions, a practical HPLC method to differentiate various varieties of Uncaria herbs was set up based on a set of characteristic components across each species. A high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector tandem ion trap and time of flight mass spectrometry technique combined with reference substances was utilized to derive 21 characteristic compounds containing six groups of six Uncaria species in China. Thus, this study provides a feasible method to solve the current problem of confusion in Uncaria species, and makes a significant step forward in the appropriate clinical use, in-depth research and further utilization of different Uncaria species.

One-Pot Access to a Library of Dispiro Oxindole-pyrrolidine/pyrrolothiazole-thiochromane Hybrids via Three-Component 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Reactions

A library of novel dispiro compounds containing oxindole pyrrolidine/oxindolopyrrolothiazole-thiochroman-4-one hybrid frameworks has been synthesized in a fully regio- and stereoselective fashion by the three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides generated in situ from the condensation of isatins and secondary amino acids (sarcosine/l-thioproline) with 3-arylidenethiochroman-4-ones. This experimentally simple protocol provides good yields of structurally complex, biologically relevant heterocycles in a single operation.

Medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the genus Uncaria

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The genus Uncaria belongs to the family Rubiaceae, which mainly distributed in tropical regions, such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Southeast America. Their leaves and hooks have long been thought to have healing powers and are already being tested as a treatment for asthma, cancer, cirrhosis, diabetes, hypertension, stroke and rheumatism. The present review aims to provide systematically reorganized information on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the genus Uncaria to support for further therapeutic potential of this genus. To better understanding this genus, information on the stereo-chemistry and structure-activity relationships in indole alkaloids is also represented.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The literature study of this review is based on various databases search (SCIFinder, Science Direct, CNKI, Wiley online library, Spring Link, Web of Science, PubMed, Wanfang Data, Medalink, Google scholar, ACS, Tropicos, Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, The New York Botanical Garden, African Plants Database at Genera Botanical Garden, The Plant List and SEINet) and library search for Biological Abstract and some local books on ethnopharmacology.

RESULTS

19 species of the genus Uncaria are found to be important folk medicines in China, Malaysia, Phillippines, Africa and Southeast America, etc, and have been served for the treatment of asthma, rheumatism, hyperpyrexia, hypertension and headaches, etc. More than 200 compounds have been isolated from Uncaria, including indole alkaloids, triterpenes, flavonoids, phenols, phenylpropanoids, etc. As characteristic constituents, indole alkaloids have been considered as main efficacy component for hypertension, epilepsy, depressant, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, pharmacokinetic and metabolism investigation reveal that the indole alkaloids are likely to be absorbed, metabolized and excreted at early time points. Moreover, the specific inhibition of CYP isozymes can regulate their hydroxylation metabolites at C-10 and C-11.

CONCLUSION

Preliminary investigations on pharmacological properties of the Uncaria species have enlightened their efficacious remedy for hypertension, asthma, cancer, diabetes, rheumatism and neurodegenerative diseases. To ensure the safety and effectiveness in clinical application, research on bioactive compounds, pharmacological mechanisms and toxicity of the genus Uncaria as well as the stereo-chemistry and structure-activity relationships of indole alkaloids seem very important.