One new linear C14 polyacetylene glucoside with antiadipogenic activities on 3T3-L1 cells from the capitula of Coreopsis tinctoria

Genus Echinophora-Biological Activity, Chemical Composition, and Future Perspectives

Species belonging to the genus Echinophora (Apiaceae) have been used by humanity since ancient times as flavoring agents, preservatives, and medicines for the treatment of a broad spectrum of conditions, including respiratory, digestive and kidney disorders, fungi infections, wounds, and gastric ulcers. Phytochemical studies on this botanical genus mainly investigate the essential oil composition and reveal the species as a rich source of volatile compounds, including monoterpenes and phenylpropanoids. Among the non-volatile secondary metabolites, flavonoids, coumarins, phenolic acids, phytosterols, and polyacetylenes have been identified. Pharmacological studies revealed Echinophora extracts and essential oils exhibit different biological properties, including antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities. However, compared to other genera, the biological activity and chemical diversity of this genus are not well studied. In future decades, it is highly likely that the small genus Echinophora will play an important role in drug discovery and drug development.

New polyacetylenes from Bidens procera

A phytochemical investigation of Bidens procera L.C.Xu ex X.W.Zheng afforded two novel polyacetylenes, tridecane-2E-monoene-4,6,8-triyntylen-1,13-diol-12-O-β-glucoside (1) and tetradecane-2E,8E-diene-4,6-diyne-1,14-diol-13-O-β-glucoside (2), together with ten known compounds (3 - 12). Their chemical structures were elucidated by NMR and MS spectrums as well as the comparison of the published data. Furthermore, the chemotaxonomy of the yielded compounds was also discussed.

Coreopsis tinctoria improves energy metabolism in obese hyperglycemic mice

Coreopsis tinctoria (CT) improves energy metabolism. However, the role of CT in alleviating obesity-induced hyperglycemia by targeting the liver remains unknown. Therefore, this article aims to explore the mechanism by which CT improves energy metabolism and resists hyperglycemia. The water and ethanol extracts of CT were administered to high-fat diet-induced (HFD) obese C57BL/6J mice at a dose of 4 g/kg.bw (low-dose water extract, WL; low-dose ethanol extract, EL) or 10 g/kg.bw (high-dose water extract, WH; high-dose ethanol extract, EH). Mice that consumed a maintenance diet (LFD) were included as blank controls. Network pharmacology, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), L02 cell cultivation, and liver transcriptomics were used to examine the mechanism and functional components of CT against obesity-induced hyperglycemia. The results indicated that WL significantly (p < 0.05) alleviated glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in obesity-induced hyperglycemia. Kaempferol is the main active compound of CT, which demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) anti-hyperglycemic effects in obese mice and L02 cells. Finally, kaempferol significantly (p < 0.05; fold change >1.2) shifted the genes involved in carbon metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways toward the trend of LFD, indicating that it exerts an anti-hyperglycemic effect through these molecular mechanisms. Overall, oral intake of CT lowers blood glucose and improves insulin sensitivity in mice with obesity-induced hyperglycemia. Kaempferol is the primary functional component of CT.

Polyacetylenes in herbal medicine: A comprehensive review of its occurrence, pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacokinetics (2014-2021)

Polyacetylenes are a kind of small active compounds with carbon-carbon triple bond with vast occurrence in plants. Polyacetylenes have attracted considerable attention owing to their diverse biofunctions like tumor suppression, immunity regulation, depression resistance and neural protection. The present review intends to reconstruct data concerning the occurrence, pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacokinetics of polyacetylenes from herbal medicine in a systematic and integrated way, with a view to backing up their curative potential and healthcare properties (2014-2021). The natural polyacetylene-related data were all acquired from the scientific search engines and databases that are globally recognized, such as PubMed, Web of Science, Elsevier, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, SciFinderⁿ and CNKI. A total of 183 polyacetylenes were summarized in this paper. Modern pharmacological studies indicated that polyacetylenes possess multiple biological activities including antitumor, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, anti-depression, anti-obesity, hypoglycemic, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, hepatoprotective and renoprotective activities. As important bioactive components of herbal medicine, the pharmacological curative potential of polyacetylenes has been described against carcinomas, inflammatory responses, central nervous system, endocrine disorders and microbial infection in this review. While, further in-depth studies on the aspects of polyacetylenes for toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and molecular mechanisms are still limited, thereby intensive research and assessments should be performed.

Polyacetylene Glycosides: Isolation, Biological Activities and Synthesis

Polyacetylene glycosides (PAGs) constitute a relatively small class of secondary metabolites characterized by the presence of a sugar unit anomerically connected to a polyacetylene. These compounds are found in fungi, seaweed, and more often in plants. PAGs exhibit a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities and, as a result, the literature of these compounds has grown exponentially in recent years.

Polyacetylene glucosides from the florets of Carthamus tinctorius and their anti-inflammatory activity

Five previously undescribed polyacetylene glucosides, namely, four C₁₀- and one C₁₄-acetylenes, together with three known analogues, were isolated from the florets of Carthamus tinctorius L. The structures of these novel compounds were elucidated to be (5R)-5-acetoxy-8,10,12-tetradecatriyne-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, (2Z)-decaene-4,6,8-triyne-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, (8Z)-1-[(3-O-β-D-glucosyl)-isovaleroyloxy]-8-decaene-4,6-diyne, (8Z)-decaene-1-isovaleroyloxy-4,6-diyne-10-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, and (2E,8E)-decadiene-4,6-diyne-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside via spectroscopic and chemical methods. All of the isolated compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines, antibacterial activity, and inhibitory effects on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production. The results showed that (5R)-5-acetoxy-8,10,12-tetradecatriyne-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside significantly inhibited LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner.

Traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt.: A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. (family Asteraceae) is an important traditional medicine in North America, Europe, and Asia for quite a long historical period, which has received great attention due to its health-benefiting activities, including disinfection, treatment sexual infection, diarrhoea, acute and chronic dysentery, red-eye swelling as well as pain, heat, thirst, hypertension, palpitation, gastrointestinal discomfort, and loss of appetite.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to give an overview of the current phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of C. tinctoria, and reveals the correlation among its traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological profile, and potential toxicity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This review is based on published studies and books from electronic sources and library, including the online ethnobotanical database, ethnobotanical monographs, Scopus, SciFinder, Baidu Scholar, CNKI, and PubMed. These reports are related to the traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of C. tinctoria.

RESULTS

Coreopsis tinctoria is traditionally used in diarrhoea, infection, and chronic metabolic diseases. From 1954 to now, more than 120 chemical constituents have been identified from C. tinctoria, such as flavonoids, polyacetylenes, polysaccharides, phenylpropanoids, and volatile oils. Flavonoids are the major bioactive components in C. tinctoria. Current research has shown that its extracts and compounds possess diverse biological and pharmacological activities such as antidiabetes, anti-cardiovascular diseases, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, protective effects on organs, neuroprotective effects, antimicrobial, and antineoplastic. Studies in animal models, including acute toxicity, long-term toxicity, and genotoxicity have demonstrated that Snow Chrysanthemum is a non-toxic herb, especially for its water-soluble parts.

CONCLUSIONS

Recent findings regarding the main phytochemical and pharmacological properties of C. tinctorial have confirmed its traditional uses in anti-infection and treatment of chronic metabolic disease and, more importantly, have revealed the plant as a valuable medicinal plant resource for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. The available reports indicated that most of the bioactivities in C. tinctorial could be attributed to flavonoids. However, higher quality studies on animals and humans studies are required to explore the efficacy and mechanism of action of C. tinctoria in future.

The Phytochemistry of Cherokee Aromatic Medicinal Plants

Background: Native Americans have had a rich ethnobotanical heritage for treating diseases, ailments, and injuries. Cherokee traditional medicine has provided numerous aromatic and medicinal plants that not only were used by the Cherokee people, but were also adopted for use by European settlers in North America. Methods: The aim of this review was to examine the Cherokee ethnobotanical literature and the published phytochemical investigations on Cherokee medicinal plants and to correlate phytochemical constituents with traditional uses and biological activities. Results: Several Cherokee medicinal plants are still in use today as herbal medicines, including, for example, yarrow (Achillea millefolium), black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), and blue skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora). This review presents a summary of the traditional uses, phytochemical constituents, and biological activities of Cherokee aromatic and medicinal plants. Conclusions: The list is not complete, however, as there is still much work needed in phytochemical investigation and pharmacological evaluation of many traditional herbal medicines.

Protective effects of flavonoids from Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. on experimental acute pancreatitis via Nrf-2/ARE-mediated antioxidant pathways

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Oxidative stress is a prominent feature of clinical acute pancreatitis (AP). Coreopsis tinctoria has been used traditionally to treat pancreas disorders like diabetes mellitus in China and Portugal and its flavonoid-rich fraction contain the main phytochemicals that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To investigate the effects of flavonoids isolated from C. tinctoria on experimental AP and explore the potential mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

LC-MS based online technique was used to analyse and isolate targeted flavonoids from C. tinctoria. Freshly isolated mouse pancreatic acinar cells were treated with taurocholic acid sodium salt hydrate (NaT, 5 mM) with or without flavonoids. Fluorescence microscopy and a plate reader were used to determine necrotic cell death pathway activation (propidium iodide), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (H2-DCFDA) and ATP depletion (luminescence) where appropriate. AP was induced by 7 repeated intraperitoneal caerulein injections (50 μg/kg) at hourly interval in mice or retrograde infusion of taurolithocholic acid 3-sulfate disodium salt (TLCS; 5 mM, 50 μL) into the pancreatic duct in mice or infusion of NaT (3.5%, 1 mL/kg) in rats. A flavonoid was intraperitoneally administered at 0, 4, and 8 h after the first caerulein injection or post-operation. Disease severity, oxidative stress and antioxidant markers were determined.

RESULTS

Total flavonoids extract and flavonoids 1-6 (C1-C6) exhibited different capacities in reducing necrotic cell death pathway activation with 0.5 mM C1, (2 R,3 R)-taxifolin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, having the best effect. C1 also significantly reduced NaT-induced ROS production and ATP depletion. C1 at 12.5 mg/kg and 8.7 mg/kg (equivalent to 12.5 mg/kg for mice) significantly reduced histopathological, biochemical and immunological parameters in the caerulein-, TLCS- and NaT-induced AP models, respectively. C1 administration increased pancreatic nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and Nrf2-medicated haeme oxygenase-1 expression and elevated pancreatic antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Flavonoid C1 from C. tinctoria was protective in experimental AP and this effect may at least in part be attributed to its antioxidant effects by activation of Nrf2-mediated pathways. These results suggest the potential utilisation of C. tinctoria to treat AP.

Polyacetylene glycoside attenuates ischemic kidney injury by co-inhibiting inflammation, mitochondria dysfunction and lipotoxicity

AIMS

Ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious clinical problem and no efficient therapeutics is available in clinic now. Natural polyacetylene glycosides (PGAs) had shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but their effects on kidney injury have not been evaluated. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of PGA on ischemic kidney injury in renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) and mice.

MAIN METHODS

Hypoxic HK-2 cells and renal ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) mice were treated with PGA from Coreopsis tinctoria, and the cell viability, renal function, apoptosis, inflammation, mitochondrial injury, lipids metabolism were analyzed.

KEY FINDINGS

In vitro results showed that PGA improved cell viability and reduced oxidative stress, pro-apoptotic/pro-inflammatory factors expression and NFκB activation in TECs under hypoxia/reperfusion (H/R). Moreover, PGA reduced mitochondria oxidative stress and improved ATP production, ΔΨm and mitochondria biogenesis, and inhibited lipids uptake, biosynthesis and accumulation in hypoxic TECs. In vivo, PGA significantly attenuated kidney injury and reduced blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (CREA) and urinary albumin (Alb), and increased creatinine clearance (CC) in IRI mice. PGA also decreased cell apoptosis, mitochondria oxidative stress, inflammatory response and lipid droplets accumulation, and promoted ATP generation in kidney of IRI mice.

SIGNIFICANCE

Our results proved that PGA ameliorated ischemic kidney injury via synergic anti-inflammation, mitochondria protection and anti-lipotoxicity actions, and it might be a promising multi-target therapy for ischemic AKI.