Indonesia medicinal plants. III. On the constituents of the bark of Fagara rhetza (Rutaceae). (1): Alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, and acid amide

Synthesis of Bungeanool, Isobungeanool, Dihydrobungeanool, Tetrahydrobungeanool, Hazaleamide, Lanyuamide III, and Analogues

The bungeanools are a family of alkamide natural products isolated from the pericarps of Zanthoxylum bungeanum (Sichuan pepper), and they are structurally related to the sanshools. While the sanshools, especially hydroxy-α-sanshool, have been studied in a variety of contexts, research regarding the bungeanools has been much more limited. To facilitate their study, we have developed stereoselective syntheses of all four members of this family of compounds by using flexible routes that are also amenable to the synthesis of analogues. The key transformation in the syntheses was the stereoselective triphenylphosphine/phenol-catalyzed isomerization of an alkynoate to the corresponding conjugated E,E-dienoate.

PPARγ transcription effect on naturally occurring O-prenyl cinnamaldehydes and cinnamyl alcohol derivatives

Background: PPARγ is known to be a key regulator of metabolism and storage of lipids and glucose and to be implicated in the pathology of severe syndromes like obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and cancer. Methods: As a continuation of the authors' studies on oxyprenylated secondary metabolites as effective PPARγ agonists, the authors describe herein the chemical synthesis of natural O-prenyl cinnamaldehydes and cinnamyl alcohols and preliminary data on their in vitro effects on PPARγ transcription. Results: Among the panel of eight compounds tested, three - namely, (2E)-3-(4-((E)3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienyloxy)-3-methoxyphenyl)acrylaldehyde, (2E)-3-(4-((E)3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienyloxy)-3-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-ol and boropinal A - exerted activity in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: O-prenyl cinnamaldehydes and cinnamyl alcohols have the potential to effectively interact with PPARγ receptor.

New Oplopane-type Sesquiterpenoids from Ligularia duciformis

The chemical constituents of the root of Ligularia duciformis, collected in Yunnan Province of China, was studied and two new oplopane-type sesquiterpenoids were isolated, whose structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidence. Quite recently, oplopane-type compounds were found in Ligularia narynensis, and this is the second example to isolate oplopane-type sesquiterpenoids from Ligularia plants.

New alkylamide from the stems of Zanthoxylum nitidum

A new alkylamide, named (2E,6E,8E)-N-(2-methylpropyl)-10-oxo-2,6,8-decatrienamide (1), together with 22 known compounds (2-23), were isolated from the stems of Zanthoxylum nitidum. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The isolated compounds exhibited slightly antioxidant activities through DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays but showed no antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans ATCC2517, a dental caries causing bacteria.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid amides from the Zanthoxylum genus – from culinary curiosities to probes for chemical biology

A critical and comprehensive review of the discovery, synthesis, and biological activities of alkamides isolated from Zanthoxylum plants and synthetic derivatives thereof.

Terpenoids and Phenylpropanoids in Ligularia duciformis, L. kongkalingensis, L. nelumbifolia, and L. limprichtii

The diversity in root chemicals and evolutionally neutral DNA regions in the complex of Ligularia duciformis, L. kongkalingensis, and L. nelumbifolia (the d/k/n complex) was studied using eight samples collected in central and northern Sichuan Province of China. Cacalol (14) and epicacalone (15), rearranged eremophilanes, were isolated from the complex for the first time. Two new phenylpropanoids were also obtained. Seven of the eight samples produced phenylpropanoids and the other produced lupeol alone. Two of the seven samples also produced furanoeremophilanes or their derivatives and one produced oplopanes. The geographical distribution of the sesquiterpene-producing populations suggests that the production of sesquiterpenes evolved independently in separate regions. L. limprichtii collected in northern Sichuan was also analyzed and its chemical composition and the sequence of internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) in the ribosomal RNA gene cluster were found to be similar to that in the d/k/n complex and L. yunnanensis, which are morphologically similar.

Chemical and Genetic Study of two Ligularia Hybrids in Shangrila County, Yunnan Province, China

The composition of root chemicals was examined for samples of L. cyathiceps × L. duciformis, L. duciformis × L. yunnanensis, and L. yunnanensis. Various furanoeremophilanes were isolated from a sample of L. cyathiceps × L. duciformis and found to be very similar to those isolated from L. cyathiceps. Lupeol and docosyl ferulate were isolated from L. yunnanensis, L. duciformis, and L. duciformis × L. yunnanensis.

Chemical and genetic study of Ligularia duciformis and related species in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China

The chemical constituents of the root extracts and the evolutionarily neutral DNA base sequences were studied for 28 samples of Ligularia duciformis, L. kongkalingensis, and L. nelumbifolia collected in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. The samples could be classified into four chemotypes (1-4). Sesquiterpenoids having eremophilane and oplopane skeletons were isolated from two (Chemotype 1) and three (Chemotype 2) samples, respectively. Two new oplopane derivatives were isolated and their structures were determined. In 18 samples, phenylpropenoids were the major components (Chemotype 3). In five samples, neither phenylpropenoids nor sesquiterpenoids were found (Chemotype 4). Despite this large chemical variety, no correlation was found between the chemotype and the morphological criteria of species identification. The analysis of the evolutionarily neutral DNA regions also indicated that the samples were not separated into distinct clades and that introgression was extensive.

Complex Diversity in

Two samples of Ligularia kanaitzensis collected in the Shizhongshan Mountain region of Yunnan Province, as well as one sample collected in Sichuan Province, were analyzed with regard to root constituents and neutral DNA sequences. The two Shizhongshan samples were found to be different from each other and from other samples analyzed previously, indicating that the intra-specific diversity in the species was highly complex.

Revealing Indigenous Indonesian Traditional Medicine: Anti-infective Agents

Indonesia is rich in medicinal plants which the population has used traditionally from generation to generation for curing diseases. Our interest in the treatment of infectious diseases has lead to the investigation of traditional Indonesian treatments. In this review, we present a comprehensive review of ethnopharmacologically directed screening in Indonesian medicinal plants to search for new antiviral, antimalarial, antibacterial and antifungal agents. Some potent drug leads have been isolated from Indonesian medicinal plants. Further research is still required for the lead development as well as the search for new bioactive compounds from the enormous medicinal plant resources.

Chemical Composition of the Leaf Essential Oil of Casimiroa Edulis La Llave & Lex. (Rutaceae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica

The leaf essential oil of Casimiroa edulis (Rutaceae), collected from Monteverde, Costa Rica, has been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The leaf oil was dominated by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, predominately germacrene D (16-22%) and ( E)-caryophyllene (16-17%), consistent with the traditional use of this plant as a sedative, sleep inducer and hypotensive.

Progress in the studies on rutaecarpine

Rutaecarpine is an indolopyridoquinazolinone alkaloid isolated from Evodia rutaecarpa and related herbs, which has shown a variety of intriguing biological properties such as anti-thrombotic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, anti-obesity and thermoregulatory, vasorelaxing activity, as well as effects on the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. Recent progress in the studies on the isolation, synthesis, structure-activity relationship studies, biological activities and metabolism of rutaecarpine are reviewed.

Prenylated phenylpropenes from Coleonema pulchellum with antimicrobial activity

The lipophilic root extract of Coleonema pulchellum was analysed and tested for antifungal and antibacterial activity. Eight previously undescribed prenyloxy and geranyloxy phenylpropenes, were isolated as major compounds together with the known evofolin-C as well as the lignans (+/-)-sesamin and (+/-)-prenylpiperitol, the diterpene (-)-pimara-9(11),15-dien-19-oic acid and the 2,4-decadienoic acid isobutylamide. All structures were established by spectroscopic evidence. From the new phenylpropenes, named evofolin-C-acetate, colenemol, colenemal, prenycol acetate, dehydroprenycol acetate, precolpuchol, colpuchol and colpuchol acetate, the dihydroxylated precolpuchol displayed the strongest antifungal and antibacterial activity against Cladosporium herbarum and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively.

Indonesian medicinal plants. VII. Seven new clerodane-type diterpenoids, peronemins A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, and D1, from the leaves of Peronema canescens (Verbenaceae)

Seven new clerodane-type diterpenoids, named peronemins B2 (1), A2 (2), B1 (3), C1 (4), B3 (5), A3 (6), and D1 (7), were isolated from the leaves of Peronema canescens (Verbenaceae), an Indonesian medicinal plant collected in Bengkulu, Sumatera Island, Indonesia. The chemical structures of 1-7 have been elucidated on the basis of their chemical and physicochemical properties.