Two new flavonol glycosides from the Tibetan medicinal plant Aconitum tanguticum

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of the Tangut monkshood Aconitum tanguticum (Ranunculales: Ranunculaceae)

The Tangut monkshood (Aconitum tanguticum) is a perennial herb with high medicinal values. Here, its chloroplast genome was assembled from Illumina sequencing reads. The circular genome is 157,114 bp long with an A + T-biased nucleotide composition, and comprises a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (26,255 bp), separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region (87,559 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (17,045 bp). It encodes a total of 112 gene species, with 19 of them being completely or partially duplicated and 18 of them harboring one or two introns. Phylogenetic analysis recovered two major clades of the genus Aconitum.

Diterpenoid alkaloids from the whole plant of Aconitum tanguticum (Maxim.) Stapf

Five undescribed diterpenoid alkaloids tanguticulines A-E and two undescribed amide compounds 5-methoxy-N-Salicylanthranilic acid methyl ester and 3, 5-dimethoxy-4- hydroxycinnamamide-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, were isolated from the whole plant of Aconitum tanguticum (Maxim.) Stapf. Their structures were assigned by detailed analysis of MS and NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 5 were evaluated for their antivirus activities against influenza a (H1N1) virus in vitro. Both of them showed obvious inhibitory effect on the cytopathic changes induced by H1N1, with IC₅₀ values of 2.9 μg mL^-1 and 2.4 μg mL^-1, respectively.

Non-alkaloidal constituents from the genus Aconitum: a review

Species of the genus Aconitum are widely distributed in the north temperate region and have been used in traditional medicine since antiquity due to their biological activities. Phytochemical investigations of Aconitum species have revealed the presence of multiple active ingredients, including flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, phenolics and acids, terpenoids, and polysaccharides in addition to their diterpenoid alkaloids. These non-alkaloidal constituents show great research significance for their novel structures, broad bioactivities, and chemotaxonomical significance. This review addresses, for the first time, the non-alkaloidal constituents and their biological properties and their taxonomic significance for Aconitum plants to facilitate future research.

Traditional Tibetan medicinal plants: a highlighted resource for novel therapeutic compounds

Around 70-80% of drugs used in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) come from Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the majority of which are plants. The biological and medicinal culture diversity on Qinghai Tibet Plateau are amazing and constitute a less tapped resource for innovative drug research and development. Meanwhile, the problem of the exhausting Tibetan medicine resources is worrying. Here, the latest awareness, as well as the gaps of the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant issues in drug development and clinical usage of TTM compounds, was systematically reviewed and highlighted. The TTM resource studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper and more extensive investigations of molecular biology and genomics of TTM plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics and ethnopharmacology-based bioactivity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and exploitation of Tibetan medicinal resource.

Two new compounds from Aconitum tanguticum

A phytochemical investigation on the whole plant of Aconitum tanguticum (Ranunculaceae) resulted in the isolation and characterization of two new phenylpropanoid glycosides (1 and 2). Their structures were elucidated as 4-hydroxyphenethoxy-8-O-β-d-[6-O-(4-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl)-sinapoyl]-glucopyranoside (1) and 3,4-dimethoxy-trans-cinnamic acid-9-O-β-d-allopyranoside (2) on the basis of spectroscopic data (1D NMR, 2D NMR, and MS) and comparison with the literature data.