Recovery of immune activity by administration of polysaccharides of Toona sinensis and its characterization of major component

Traditional Uses, Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Activities of the Toona sinensis Plant

Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) Roem., which is widely distributed in China, is a homologous plant resource of medicine and food. The leaves, seeds, barks, buds and pericarps of T. sinensis can be used as medicine with traditional efficacy. Due to its extensive use in traditional medicine in the ancient world, the T. sinensis plant has significant development potential. In this review, 206 compounds, including triterpenoids (1-133), sesquiterpenoids (134-135), diterpenoids (136-142), sterols (143-147), phenols (148-167), flavonoids (168-186), phenylpropanoids (187-192) and others (193-206), are isolated from the T. sinensis plant. The mass spectrum cracking laws of representative compounds (64, 128, 129, 154-156, 175, 177, 179 and 183) are reviewed, which are conducive to the discovery of novel active substances. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that T. sinensis extracts and their compounds have antidiabetic, antidiabetic nephropathy, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hepatoprotective, antiviral, antibacterial, immunopotentiation and other biological activities. The traditional uses, chemical constituents, compound cracking laws and pharmacological activities of different parts of T. sinensis are reviewed, laying the foundation for improving the development and utilization of its medicinal value.

Structural characterization of a pectic polysaccharide from laoshan green tea and its inhibitory effects on the production of NO, TNF-α and IL-6

A novel pectic polysaccharide, named GTPS3-1, was isolated and purified from Laoshan green tea polysaccharide (GTPS) through DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow and Sephacryl S-300 columns, its structure was characterized and its anti-inflammatory activity was explored. GTPS3-1, with a molecular weight of 26.05 kDa, was mainly composed of galacturonic acid, galactose, rhamnose and arabinose in a molar ratio of 4.72:2.5:1.68:1 on the basis of monosaccharide composition. Structural analysis results revealed that GTPS3-1 was a highly branched pectin consisting of →3)-Galp-(1→, →2)-Rhap-(1→, →3,5)-Araf-(1→, →3)-Rhap-(1→, GalpA-(1→, →3,4)-Galp-(1→, →4)-GalpA-(1→, →5)-Araf-(1→, →2,4)-Rhap-(1→, Rhap-(1→ and Araf-(1→ according to FT-IR, methylation and NMR analyses. In addition, GTPS3-1 inhibited the production of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner, which resulted in the amelioration of inflammatory injury in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. These results would provide a theoretical basis for practical application of the novel polysaccharide as an anti-inflammatory adjuvant.

Terpenoids from the Seeds of Toona sinensis and Their Ability to Attenuate High Glucose-Induced Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Rat Glomerular Mesangial Cells

Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) Roem is an edible medicinal plant that belongs to the genus Toona within the Meliaceae family. It has been confirmed to display a wide variety of biological activities. During our continuous search for active constituents from the seeds of T. sinensis, two new acyclic diterpenoids (1–2), together with five known limonoid-type triterpenoids (3–7), five known apotirucallane-type triterpenoids (8–12), and three known cycloartane-type triterpenoids (13–15), were isolated and characterized. Their structures were identified based on extensive spectroscopic experiments, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectra (HR-ESI-MS), and electronic circular dichroism (ECD), as well as the comparison with those reported in the literature. We compared these findings to those reported in the literature. Compounds 5, 8, and 13–14 were isolated from the genus Toona, and compounds 11 and 15 were obtained from T. sinensis for the first time. The antidiabetic nephropathy effects of isolated compounds against high glucose-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in rat glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) were assessed in vitro. The results showed that new compounds 1 and 2 could significantly increase the levels of Nrf-2/HO-1 and reduce the levels of NF-κB, TNF-α, and IL-6 at concentrations of 30 μM. These results suggest that compounds 1 and 2 might prevent the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and facilitate the research and development of new antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drugs suitable for the prevention and treatment of DN.

Cytotoxicity and polyol pathway inhibitory activities of chemical constituents isolated from the pericarp of Toona sinensis

Toona sinensis is a medicinal and edible plant that belongs to the genus Toona of family Meliaceae. Phytochemical investigations carried out on this plant, seven apotirucallane-type triterpenoids (1-7), two cycloartane-type triterpenoids (8-9), four sterols (10-13), two sesquiterpenes (14-15), four phenols (16-19), and one lignin (20) were isolated from the pericarp of T. sinensis by silica gel column and preparative middle pressure liquid chromatography. Their structures were identified by interpretation of NMR and comparison with those reported in the literature. Compounds 11-12, 15-16, and 18 were isolated from the family Meliaceae, compounds 13-14 were obtained from the genus Toona, and compound 19 was obtained from T. sinensis for the first time. Additionally, the cytotoxicity and polyol pathway (PP) inhibitory activities of active constituents were evaluated in rat glomerular mesangial cells cultured under high glucose conditions, suggesting their potential application for a PP inhibitor.