Novel triterpenoid saponins from the seeds of Celosia argentea L

Celochalcoside, a new quinochalcone C-glycoside from Celosia trigyna

A new quinochalcone C-glycoside featuring a unique quinonoid moiety, named celochalcoside (1), was isolated from the n-butanol extract of the aerial parts of Celosia trigyna L. The structure was determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis as well as mass spectrometric data. Compound 1 showed moderate cytotoxic activities against breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7), colon cancer cell lines (HT-29) and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG2) with IC50 values of 23.16, 37.05 and 18.35 μg/ml, respectively.

Wound Healing and the Use of Medicinal Plants

Cutaneous wound healing is the process by which skin repairs itself. It is generally accepted that cutaneous wound healing can be divided into 4 phases: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling. In humans, keratinocytes re-form a functional epidermis (reepithelialization) as rapidly as possible, closing the wound and reestablishing tissue homeostasis. Dermal fibroblasts migrate into the wound bed and proliferate, creating “granulation tissue” rich in extracellular matrix proteins and supporting the growth of new blood vessels. Ultimately, this is remodelled over an extended period, returning the injured tissue to a state similar to that before injury. Dysregulation in any phase of the wound healing cascade delays healing and may result in various skin pathologies, including nonhealing, or chronic ulceration. Indigenous and traditional medicines make extensive use of natural products and derivatives of natural products and provide more than half of all medicines consumed today throughout the world. Recognising the important role traditional medicine continues to play, we have undertaken an extensive survey of literature reporting the use of medical plants and plant-based products for cutaneous wounds. We describe the active ingredients, bioactivities, clinical uses, formulations, methods of preparation, and clinical value of 36 medical plant species. Several species stand out, including Centella asiatica, Curcuma longa, and Paeonia suffruticosa, which are popular wound healing products used by several cultures and ethnic groups. The popularity and evidence of continued use clearly indicates that there are still lessons to be learned from traditional practices. Hidden in the myriad of natural products and derivatives from natural products are undescribed reagents, unexplored combinations, and adjunct compounds that could have a place in the contemporary therapeutic inventory.

Celosins inhibit atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice and promote autophagy flow

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Semen celosiae is a traditional Chinese medicine for purging hepatic pathogenic fire and removing nebula to improve eyesight, treating hepatopyretic vertigo and hypertension. It possesses a serial of potential bioactivities such as hepatoprotection, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetes. The triterpenoid saponins celosins from it were proved to have hepatoprotection, lipid lowing and anti-inflammatory. However, the anti-atherosclerosis activities were not reported to date.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was designed to examine the therapeutic effects of celosins (CES), the active constituents extracted from Semen celosiae.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Atherosclerosis model by feeding high fat diet for 12 weeks in ApoE^-/- mice and foam cell model by ox-LDL-treated peritoneal macrophages were performed. The lipid plaque was measured by histopathological analysis. The LC3 dots in the aortic root lesion examined through tissue immunofluorescence. The peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis, formation of foam cells, genes associated protein expression and autophagy flux were measured on foam cell model by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL) stimulating peritoneal macrophages. The mRNA expression of CD36, SR-A1, ABCA1 and ABCG1 were determined by Real-Time PCR method. The expressions of LC3 and beclin 1 were measured using Western blot.

RESULTS

CES (10, 30, 90mg/kg; p.o.) administrated for 4 weeks significantly reduced the prevalence of the relative area of plaque in mouse aorta, and showed the therapeutic effect on atherosclerosis. In the tissue section of immunofluorescence for aortic root, compared with high fat diet model group, the number of autophagy bodies in CES group increased significantly, suggesting that inhibiting atherosclerosis effect of CES may be related to its promoting autophagy. In vitro, CES significantly reduced phagocytosis of macrophages on lipid and formation rate of foam cells. CES down-regulated the mRNA expression of CD36 and SR-A1 while up-regulated mRNA expression of ABCA1 and ABCG1. Further, CES increased the autophagy specific protein LC3 and beclin 1, and it also increased the level of autophagy in the cells, and promoted the process of autophagy.

CONCLUSIONS

The therapeutic effect of CES on atherosclerosis may be related to the promotion of autophagy.

Betalains in Some Species of the Amaranthaceae Family: A Review

Natural pigments are largely distributed in the plant kingdom. They belong to diverse groups, with distinct biochemical pathways. Betalains with colours that range from yellow to red-violet can de divided into two main subgroups: betaxanthins and betacyanins. These types of pigments are confined into 13 families of the order Caryophyllales and in some genera of higher fungi (Amanita muscaria, Hygrocybe and Hygrophorus). The Amaranthaceae family includes diverse genera in which betalains are present: Alternanthera, Amaranthus, Beta, Chenopodium, Celosia and Gomphrena. The biosynthesis of betalains and their general biological properties were reviwed in the present work. In addition, the types of betalains present in some species of the aforementioned genera, their stability and production, as well as biological attributes, were reviewed.

Hepatoprotective natural triterpenoids

Liver diseases are one of the leading causes of death in the world. In spite of tremendous advances in modern drug research, effective and safe hepatoprotective agents are still in urgent demand. Natural products are undoubtedly valuable sources for drug leads. A number of natural triterpenoids were reported to possess pronounced hepatoprotective effects, and triterpenoids have become one of the most important classes of natural products for hepatoprotective agents. However, the significance of natural triterpenoids has been underestimated in the hepatoprotective drug discovery, with only very limited triterpenoids being covered in the reviews of hepatoprotective natural products. In this paper, ca 350 natural triterpenoids with reported hepatoprotective effects in ca 120 references between 1975 and 2016 will be reviewed, and the structure-activity relationships of certain types of natural triterpenoids, if available, will be discussed. Patents are not included.

Three new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins from the seeds of Celosia cristata L

Phytochemical investigation of the 1-butanol soluble fraction of 60% ethanol extract of the seeds of Celosia cristata L. led to the identification of three new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins. Using ¹D and ²D NMR experiment methods, ESI-MS analysis and acid hydrolysis, their structures were identified as 3-O-[β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]-2β-hydroxy-oleanolic acid-28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), 3-O-[β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]-2β, 23-dihydroxy-oleanolic acid-28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2) and 3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-2-hydroxyl-medicagenic acid-28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyide (3), respectively.

Triterpenoids

Covering: 2013. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2015, 29, 1028-1065This review covers the isolation and structure determination of triterpenoids reported during 2013 including squalene derivatives, lanostanes, holostanes, cycloartanes, cucurbitanes, dammaranes, euphanes, tirucallanes, tetranortriterpenoids, quassinoids, lupanes, oleananes, friedelanes, ursanes, hopanes, serratanes, isomalabaricanes and saponins; 350 references are cited.

Cytotoxic coumaronochromones from the inflorescences of Celosia cristata

Investigation on the MeOH extracts of the inflorescences of Celosia cristata led to the isolation of two new coumaronochromones, cristatone I (1) and cristatone II (2), along with three known flavones (3-5). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1-5 were tested for their cytotoxic activity against HeLa and BGC-823 cancer cell lines, of which cristatone II (2) showed interesting activity with the IC₅₀ value of 23.82 μM.