Six New Phragmalin Limonoids from the Stems of Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss

Pharmacological insights into Chukrasia velutina bark: Experimental and computer-aided approaches

BACKGROUND

Chukrasia velutina is an enthnomedicinally used plant reported to have significant medicinal values. The present study aimed to explore the pharmacological activities of bark methanol extract using in vitro, in vivo and in silico models.

METHODS

The study was designed to investigate the pharmacological effects of methanol extract of Chukrasia velutina bark (MECVB) through in vitro, in vivo and in silico assays. Analgesic activity was tested using formalin-induced nociception and acetic acid-induced writhing assays while the antipyretic effect was tested using yeast-induced hyperthermia in mice model. The antioxidant effect was tested using the DPPH and reducing power assay and the cytotoxic screening was tested using the brine shrimp lethality bioassay. In addition, in silico studies were conducted using computer aided methods.

RESULTS

In the acetic acid-induced writhing assay, the extract showed 28.36% and 56.16% inhibition of writhing for doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, a dose-dependent formalin-induced licking response was observed in both early and late phase. In yeast-induced pyrexia, the MECVB exhibited (p < 0.05) antipyretic effect. The extract demonstrated an IC₅₀ value of 78.86 μg/ml compared with ascorbic acid (IC₅₀ 23.53 μg/ml) in the DPPH scavenging assay. The compounds sitosterol, 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin and scopoletin were seen be effective in molecular docking scores against COX-I (2OYE), COX-II (6COX) and human peroxiredoxin 5 (1HD2). In ADME/T analysis, 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin and scopoletin satisfied Lipinski's rule of five and thus are potential drug candidates.

CONCLUSION

The bark of Chukrasia velutina showed significant analgesic and antipyretic properties and is a potential source of natural anti-oxidative agents.

Research progress of meliaceous limonoids from 2011 to 2021

Covering: July 2010 to December 2021Limonoids, a kind of natural tetranortriterpenoids with diverse skeletons and valuable insecticidal and medicinal bioactivities, are the characteristic metabolites of most plants of the Meliaceae family. The chemistry and bioactivities of meliaceous limonoids are a continuing hot area of natural products research; to date, about 2700 meliaceous limonoids have been identified. In particular, more than 1600, including thirty kinds of novel rearranged skeletons, have been isolated and identified in the past decade due to their wide distribution and abundant content in Meliaceae plants and active biosynthetic pathways. In addition to the discovery of new structures, many positive medicinal bioactivities of meliaceous limonoids have been investigated, and extensive achievements regarding the chemical and biological synthesis have been made. This review summarizes the recent research progress in the discovery of new structures, medicinal and agricultural bioactivities, and chem/biosynthesis of limonoids from the plants of the Meliaceae family during the past decade, with an emphasis on the discovery of limonoids with novel skeletons, the medicinal bioactivities and mechanisms, and chemical synthesis. The structures, origins, and bioactivities of other new limonoids were provided as ESI. Studies published from July 2010 to December 2021 are reviewed, and 482 references are cited.

Phragmalin and mexicanolide limonoids with reversal of multidrug resistance from the seeds of Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss

Six undescribed 1,8,9-phragmalin limonoid orthoesters (chukorthoesters A-F, 1-6) and two undescribed mexicanolide-type limonoids (ivorenoids H and I, 7 and 8), together with ten known limonoids, were isolated from the seeds of common wood-source and greening plants Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss. Their chemical structures were elucidated using HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis, and that of 1 along with absolute configuration was confirmed by X-ray diffraction experiment with Cu Kα radiation. Bioactivities screening indicated the limonoid orthoesters 1 and 2 shown reversing resistance in MCF-7/DOX cells at 10 μM (RF:4-5 folds).

GC-MS Phytochemical Profiling, Pharmacological Properties, and In Silico Studies of Chukrasia velutina Leaves: A Novel Source for Bioactive Agents

Chukrasia velutina is a local medicinal plant commonly known as chikrassy in Bangladesh, India, China, and other South Asian countries. The leaves, bark, and seeds are vastly used as herbal medicine for fever and diarrhea, and its leaves essential oils are used for antimicrobial purposes. In this study, we discuss the neuropsychiatric properties of C. velutina leaves through several animal models, quantitative and qualitative phytochemical analysis, and computational approaches. Neuropsychiatric effects were performed in rodents on the methanolic extract of C. velutina leaves (MECVL). Antidepressant, anxiolytic, and sedative effects experimented through these rodent models were used such as the force swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), hole board test (HBT), elevated plus maze test (EPMT), light/dark box test (LDBT), open field test (OFT), and hole cross test (HCT). In these rodent models, 200 and 400 mg/kg doses were used which exhibited a significant result in the force swimming and tail suspension test (p < 0.001) for the antidepressant effect. In the anxiolytic study, the results were significant in the hole board, elevated plus maze, and light/dark box test (p < 0.001) for doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg. The result was also significant in the open field and hole cross test (p < 0.001) for sedative action in the sake of similar doses. Moreover, qualitative and quantitative studies were also performed through phytochemical screening and GC-MS analysis, and fifty-seven phytochemical compounds were found. These compounds were analyzed for pharmacokinetics properties using the SwissADME tool and from them, thirty-five compounds were considered for the molecular docking analysis. These phytoconstituents were docking against the human serotonin receptor, potassium channel receptor, and crystal structure of human beta-receptor, where eight of the compounds showed a good binding affinity towards the respective receptors considered to the reference standard drugs. After all of these analyses, it can be said that the secondary metabolite of C. velutina leaves (MECVL) could be a good source for inhibiting the neuropsychiatric disorders which were found on animal models as well as in computational studies.