A new seco-prezizaane-type sesquiterpene lactone from stems and branches of Illicium ternstroemioides / 中国中药杂志

Three seco-prezizaane-type sesquiterpene lactones, one phenylpropanoid, and two lignans were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of stems and branches of Illicium ternstroemioides with silica gel column chromatography, ODS column chromatography, and preparative HPLC. Based on the spectral data, they were identified as burmanicumolide D(1), veranisatin A(2), veranisatin B(3), dihydroconiferylalcohol(4), pinoresinol(5),(-)-matairesinol(6), respectively. Among them, compound 1 was a new seco-prezizaane-type sesquiterpene lactone, and 2-6 were obtained from this plant for the first time. None of these compounds display antiviral or cytotoxic activities.

Anticancer activity of britannin through the downregulation of cyclin D1 and CDK4 in human breast cancer cells

Aim of the Study: Both apoptotic induction and cell cycle blockade in cancer cells are effective strategies to eliminate cancer cells. Many conventional cancer drugs that induce apoptosis and inhibit cell cycle progression have been reported as potential therapeutics for various types of cancer. Britannin is a natural sesquiterpene lactone that its profound anticancer properties were revealed in our previous study. In this study, we evaluated the effects of britannin on the cell cycle distribution and also cell cycle-related proteins. Materials and Methods: Analysis of cell cycle distribution was carried out using flow cytometer. The effects of britannin on cyclin D1 and CDK4 expression were evaluated using the Western blot. Results: The obtained results show that britannin at the low concentrations induces cell growth inhibition mainly through G1-phase arrest while it seems that apoptosis contributes to cell growth inhibitory effect of high doses of britannin. Reduction of cyclin D1 and CDK4 protein levels were also observed after treating cancer cells with britannin. Conclusion: The obtained results reveal that britannin can inhibit MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells proliferation through arresting cell cycle progression through cyclin D1/CDK4-mediated pathway

Monomeric and dimeric sesquiterpene lactones from Artemisia heptapotamica / 中国天然药物

One new dimeric (1) and two monomeric sesquiterpene lactones (5 and 13), together with 10 known compounds (2-4, 6-12), were isolated from Artemisia heptapotamica collected in Almaty region of Kazakhstan. All compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. The structures of the new compounds were mainly achieved by extensive analysis of MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data, and ECD spectrum as well. The inhibitory activities of all isolates against activation of NF-κB induced by LPS were assessed on a THP1-Dual cell model. Some of them showed strong inhibitory activity with IC values ranging from 2 to 25 μmol·L.

Advance in studies on chemical constituents of Cichorii Herba and their pharmacological effects / 中草药

Cichorium intybus which is widely distributed in China, has been used as Uygur folk medicines for years. From the phytochemical view, the second metabolites such as polysaccharides, triterpenes, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and sesquiterpene lactone had been reported from this species. The pharmacological research mainly focused on their hepatoprotective, antibacterial, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antihyperuricemic activities. The present paper reviews the phytochemistry and biological activities of C. intybus through accessing Web of Science and multiple databases for biomedical sciences.

Performance of a commercially available plant allergen series in the assessment of suspected occupational contact dermatitis to plants in north Indian patients.

Background: Parthenium hysterophorus is the leading cause of phytogenic allergic contact dermatitis in India. The Indian Standard Series currently supplied by Systopic Laboratories Ltd and manufactured by Chemotechnique Diagnostics® contains parthenolide as the only allergen representing plant allergens. Aim: The study was conducted to assess the performance of the Chemotechnique plant series (PL-1000), consisting of 14 allergens, in patients with clinically suspected occupational contact dermatitis to plant allergens. Methods: Ninety patients were patch tested with the Chemotechnique plant series from 2011 to 2013. Demographic details, clinical diagnosis and patch test results were recorded in the contact dermatitis clinic proforma. Results: Of 90 patients, 24 (26.7%) showed positive reactions to one or more allergens in the plant series. Positive patch tests were elicited most commonly by sesquiterpene lactone mix in 19 (78.6%) patients, followed by parthenolide in 14 (57.1%), Achillea millefolium in 10 (42.9%) and others in decreasing order. Conclusion: The plant allergen series prepared by Chemotechnique Diagnostics® is possibly not optimal for diagnosing suspected allergic contact dermatitis to plants in north Indians. Sesquiterpene lactone mix should replace parthenolide as the plant allergen in the Indian Standard Series until relevant native plant extracts are commercially available for patch testing.

Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Constituents from Stem Barks of Illicium difengpi / 中草药·英文版

Objective: To isolate and identify bioactive constituents from the stem barks of Illicium difengpi. Methods: The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by repeated silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, recrystallization, and preparative HPLC techniques. The structures of the compounds were identified on the basis of spectral data including NMR, MS, and IR. Results: Two sesquiterpene lactones, majucin (1) and anisatin (2), two steroids, β-sitosterol (3) and daucosterol (4), three carboxylic acids, 2-ethyldecanoic acid (5), shikimic acid (6), and 3,4-dihydrobenzoic acid (7), and a flavonoid, quercetin (8), were successively isolated from the stem barks of I. difengpi. Conclusion: Apart from compound 3, other seven compounds are reported in this plant for the first time. The results suggested that the current studies on I. difengpi is still far from being well known and therefore more studies need to be done for better understanding of this plant. © 2014 Tianjin Press of Chinese Herbal Medicines.

Rapid Detection of Acetylbritannilactone from Inula britannica in Plasma of Rats by Online Sweeping-Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography / 中草药·英文版

Objective: To establish a rapid method for detecting acetylbritannilactone (ABL) by online sweeping-micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and to elevate the sensitivity of the detection. Methods: The combination of online sweeping technique with MEKC was used to determine the content of ABL in the extract of Inula britannica in plasma of rats. Results: ABL was completely separated within 15 min in running buffer and sample buffer. The optimal conditions were as follows: on uncoated fused quartz silica capillary, with separation voltage of 23 kV, capillary temperature of 25 °C, and detection wavelength of 195 nm. The regression equations revealed good linear relationships between the peak area and concentration of ABL (r = 0.998), with the detection limits of 0.005-0.15 mg/mL. The relative standard deviations of migration time and peak areas for intra- and inter-batch were < 2.45% and < 2.26%, respectively. The recovery rate of this method was 96.3%-97.2%. Conclusion: This method provides some advantages in separation speed, testing sensitivity, and operating convenience, with low sample and reagent consumption. The online sweeping-MEKC is an effective method for pharmacokinetic study and analysis on tracing biological samples. © 2014 Tianjin Press of Chinese Herbal Medicines.

Simultaneous Content Determination of Two Sesquiterpene Lactones in Ku-Die-Zi Injection by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This study was aimed to establish a method for the rapid content determination of Ixerin Z and 11,13α-dihydroixerin Z in Ku-Die-Zi (KDZ) injection by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY BEH C18 column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 1.7μm) by using a gradient elution with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-water at the flow rate of 0.4 mL·min-1. The column temperature was set at 40℃. Multi-reaction moni-toring (MRM) scanning was employed for quantification in ESI negative mode. The results showed that two sesquit-erpene lactones in KDZ injection were totally separated within 2 min. The linear range of Ixerin Z was 5.70-182.50 ng·mL-1, and the linear range of 11,13α-dihydroixerin Z was 4.60-131.25 ng·mL-1. The correlation coefficient r was more than 0.999 0. The recovery rates (n = 6) were 98.18% and 97.52%, with RSDs < 1.5%. The established method was successfully applied for simultaneous content determination of Ixerin Z and 11,13α-dihydroixerin Z in 6 batches of KDZ injection from 2 factories, which had some variations on the content determination results. It was concluded that the method was rapid, accurate and sensitive, which can be used for the content determination of two sesquiterpene lactones in KDZ injection.

A new sesquiterpene lactone from root of Baccaurea ramiflora / 中草药

Objective To study the chemical constituents in the root of Baccaurea ramiflora.Methods Various chromatographic techniques were used to separate and purify the constituents.The structures of the compounds were elucidated by physicochemical properties and spectral analyses(UV,IR,ESI-MS,1H-NMR,13C-NMR,Dept90,Dept135,1H-1H COSY,1H-1H NOESY,HMQC,HMBC).Results A new compound was isolated and idertified.Conclusion This compound is a novel compound and named as epidihydrotutin.

Chemical constituents of Notoseris gracilipes / 中草药

Object To investigate the chemical constituents from the whole plant of Notoseris gracilipes Shih Methods Compounds were isolated by various column chromatography and identified by spectral analysis Results Eight sesquiterpene lactones and four other compounds were isolated and identified as jacquilenin (Ⅰ), scorzoside (Ⅱ), ixerisoside D (Ⅲ), austricin (Ⅳ), notoserolide A (Ⅴ), crepidiaside A (Ⅵ), crepidiaside B (Ⅶ), and lactuside B (Ⅷ) The other four were 6, 7 dihydroxycoumarin (Ⅸ), cichoriin (Ⅹ), luteolin 7 glucoside (Ⅺ), and daucosterol ( ⅩⅡ ) Among them, compounds Ⅰ and Ⅱ showed antibacterial activity against Bacillu cereus AS 1 1688 Conclusion All compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time

Characterization of a toxin from Parthenium hysterophorus and its mode of excretion in animals.

Fractionation of methanolic extracts of air dried aerial parts of Parthenium resulted in the isolation of a toxic constituent which was identified as parthenin, the major sesquiterpene lactone from the weed. The LD50 (minimal lethal dose required to cause 50% mortality) for parthenin in rats was 42 mg/kg body weight. When [3H]-parthenin was given orally or by intravenous administration, radioactivity appeared in the milk of lactating laboratory and dairy animals. Tissue distribution of radioactivity revealed that maximum label was detectable in kidneys.