Four Unidentified Compounds Isolated from the Stem Barks of Aphanamixis polystachya and Their NO Production Inhibition in LPS Activated RAW 264.7 Cells

Phytochemical study on the methanol extract of the stem barks of Aphanamixis polystachya led to the isolation of four previously undescribed (1-4) and ten known compounds (5-14). Their chemical structures were elucidated to be 11-methoxysawaranospiroride C (1), 6α,9S,10,13-tetrahydroxymegastigmane-3-one (2), 11-hydroxyaphanamixin B (3), (2Z,6E,13E)-2,6,13-triene-11,15-dihydroxyphytanic acid (4), cinnacasside D (5), cinnacasside E (6), vilsonol F (7), (3S,5R,6S,7E,9R)-3,5,6,9-tetrahydroxy-7-en-megastigmane (8), (3S,5R,6R,7E,9R)-3,6,9,10-tetrahydroxy-7-en-megastigmane (9), citroside A (10), threo-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-1,2,3-propanetriol (11), 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (12), p-coumaric acid (13), ferulic acid (14) by HR-ESI-MS, ECD, 1D-, and 2D-NMR spectra. Compounds 1, 3, 4, and 9 showed NO production inhibitory activity in LPS activated RAW 264.7 cells with IC50 values of 42.0, 67.9, 20.5, and 78.6 μM, respectively, while the remaining compounds were inactive with IC50 values over 100 μM.

Four new tirucallane-type triterpenoids from Aphanamixis polystachya

Four new tirucallane-type triterpenoids, polystanins H-K (1-4), were obtained from the stems and leaves of Aphanamixis polystachya. Their structures were elucidated by analysis of the spectroscopic data and comparison with literature data. Compounds 1 and 2 showed week inhibitory effects against NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. All the isolates were investigated for their antifungal activities against drug-resistant Candida albicans.

Triterpenoids from the fruits of Aphanamixis polystachya and their inhibitory activities on nitric oxide production

Nineteen triterpenoids, including five previously unknown (four triucallane-type derivatives and one highly oxidized A, B-seco limonoids), together with fourteen known triterpenoids, were isolated from the fruits of Aphanamixis polystachya. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. All isolates were evaluated their anti-inflammatory activities. The result showed that all compounds inhibit LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages with their IC50 value ranging from 95 to 1332 uM, and compound 6 exhibited obvious anti-inflammatory activity comparable to that of the positive control, with IC50 values of 94.96 uM.

Two New Protolimonoids from the Chinese Mangrove Xylocarpus granatum Koenig

Two new compounds including one apotirucallane protolimonoid, xylogranatriterpin A (1), and one glabretal protolimonoid, xylocarpusin A (2), along with three known related compounds were isolated from the twigs and leaves of the Chinese mangrove Xylocarpus granatum. The apotirucallane xylogranatriterpin A (1) bears an unprecedented 24-ketal carbon connecting ring E with an epoxide ring. The structures of new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of the spectroscopic data with those reported in the literatures. Plausible biosynthetic pathway to xylogranatriterpin A (1) was also proposed. None of them showed cytotoxic, neuroprotective, or protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity.

Two new triterpenoids from the fruits of Aphanamixis polystachya

Two new triucallane triterpenoids, polystanin F (1) and polystanin G (2), along with eight known compounds (3-10) were isolated from the fruits of Aphanamixis polystachya. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. Moreover, eight compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines (liver cancer RT112, colon cancer HCT-116 and breast cancer M231) using the MTT method. Compound 7 showed significant cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 with IC₅₀ 1.27 μM.

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.

Tetranortriterpenes and Limonoids from the Roots of Aphanamixis polystachya

Phytochemical investigation of the acetone extract from the roots of Aphanamixis polystachya resulted in isolation of four new tetranortriterpenes (1-4) in addition to one protolimonoid (methyl-1ξ,7R-diacetoxy-23R,25-dihydroxy-20S,24R-21,24-epoxy-3,4-seco-apotirucall-4(28),14(15)-diene-3-oate (5)), five known limonoids (rohituka 3 (6), rohituka 7 (7), nymania 1 (8), rubrin G (9), prieurianin (10)) and a steroid (2,3-dihydroxy-5-pregnan-16-one (11)). Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses, including 2D-NMR (COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS). Cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities of these compounds were evaluated. Compounds 4 and 5 showed significant inhibition against superoxide generation and elastase release by human neutrophils in response to (formyl-l-methionyl-l-leucyl-l-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B) (FMLP/CB).

Apotirucallane protolimonoids from the Chinese mangrove Xylocarpus granatum Koenig

A series of previously unreported compounds including seven new apotirucallane protolimonoids, xylogranatumines A-G (1-7), were isolated together with three known analogues (8-10) from the twigs and leaves of the Chinese mangrove, Xylocarpus granatum. The structures of these new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D NMR and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS) and by comparison with those of related known compounds in the literature. Xylogranatumine F (6) exhibited cytotoxic activity against A549 tumor cell in vitro.

Determination of the absolute configuration of natural products

Structural elucidation of natural products is always one of the most important tasks for natural product researchers in related fields. Particularly, the absolute configuration (AC), being a great challenge for natural product chemists, has attracted much attention. During the past few decades, many techniques and approaches have been developed to determine the AC of natural products, including direct (or absolute) methods, e.g. X-ray diffraction (XRD), electronic and vibrational circular dichroism (ECD and VCD), and Raman optical activity (ROA), as well as indirect (or relative) methods using a reference or a derivatizing agent with known AC, e.g. CD with empirical rules and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) utilizing anisotropic effects of chiral derivatizing agents. However, none of the currently applied techniques is capable of dominating AC determination, since they each have their respective limitations corresponding to the different structural features. This mini review summarizes most of the techniques and methods which are commonly used in AC assignment of natural products, or have potential application prospects, and briefly describes their principles, advantages and limitations.

Bioactive terpenoids from the fruits of Aphanamixis grandifolia

From the fruits of the tropical tree Aphanamixis grandifolia, five new evodulone-type limonoids, aphanalides I-M (1-5), one new apo-tirucallane-type triterpenoid, polystanin E (6), and three new chain-like diterpenoids, nemoralisins A-C (7-9), along with 12 known compounds were identified. The absolute configurations were determined by a combination of single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies, Mo2(OAc)4-induced electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data, the Mosher ester method, and calculated ECD data. The cytotoxicities of all the isolates and the insecticidal activities of the limonoids were evaluated.