Complete chloroplast genome of the oil-bearing shrub Staphylea bumalda DC (Staphyleaceae)

Staphylea bumalda DC, belonging to family Staphyleaceae, is a woody understory tree that is both edible and medicinal and produces oil with high economic value. This study reports the first complete chloroplast genome sequence of S. bumalda. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of S. bumalda is 160,319 bp in length with an overall GC content of 32.79%, which is composed of a large single-copy region (LSC: 89,401 bp), a small single-copy region (SSC: 18,834 bp), and two inverted repeat regions (IR: 26,042 bp). A total of 130 genes were predicted in this genome, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis based on 14 complete chloroplast sequences from related species revealed that S. bumalda is a sister to S. holocarpa.

New triterpenoids from Staphylea bumalda flower buds and their neuroprotective activity against H2O2-induced injury in vitro

Four new acylated triterpene glycosides with aliphatic chains (4-7) as well as five known triterpenoids were isolated from the flower buds of Staphylea bumalda with bioassay guidance. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectral techniques, including IR, 1D and 2D NMR, and HR-APCI-MS. Most compounds (except 8) were isolated from S. bumalda for the first time. Additionally, the neuroprotective effects of 1 and 4-9 on suckling rat primary cultured hippocampal neurons against H₂O₂-induced injury were evaluated in vitro. The four new triterpenoids (4-7) showed neuroprotective effects, which increased the cell viability to over 74% at different concentrations, which was higher than the negative control (59%), while compounds 1 and 8-9 exhibited cytotoxic activity.