Screening of Indonesian Edible Plants for Bioactive Constituents and a New Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B Inhibitory Acylbenzene Derivative from Leaves of Indonesian Syzygium polyanthum.

Bioassay screening using Indonesian plants, such as traditional foods (vegetables, spices, and tea) and folk medicinal herbs, identified eight protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) 1B inhibitory and two antibacterial plants. The leaves of Syzygium polyanthum (Wight) Walp. were examined in more detail to define PTP1B inhibitory components, resulting in the isolation of a new active acylbenzene (1) along with four related congeners of 1 (2-5) and four oleanane triterpenes (6-9). The structure of 1 was elucidated as 12-oxo-12-(2,3,5-trihydroxy-4-methylphenyl)dodecanoic acid based on its spectroscopic data. The acylbenzenes 1 and 3-5 inhibited PTP1B activity with IC50 values ranging between 9.5 and 14 µM, whereas the triterpenes 7-9 also suppressed this activity with IC50 values of 3.3-5.7 µM.

Absolute Structures of Wedelolide Derivatives and Structure-Activity Relationships of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B Inhibitory ent-Kaurene Diterpenes from Aerial Parts of Wedelia spp. Collected in Indonesia and Japan.

Two sesquiterpene lactones with the (9R)-eudesman-9,12-olide framework, wedelolides I and J, have been isolated together with five eudesmanolide sesquiterpenes and twelve ent-kaurene diterpenes from the aerial parts of Indonesian Wedelia prostrata. The absolute configurations of wedelolides I and J, proposed in the previous communication, were proven by comparing their experimental Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectra with the calculated ECD spectrum of wedelolide I. The phytochemical study on the aerial parts of Okinawan Wedelia chinensis led to the isolation of three other eudesmanolide sesquiterpenes in addition to the three sesquiterpenes and eleven diterpenes isolated from the Indonesian W. prostrata as above. However, the wedelolide derivatives found in the Indonesian plant were not detected. Among these compounds, most of the diterpenes inhibited protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) 1B activity, and a structure-activity relationship study revealed that the cinnamoyl group enhanced inhibitory activity. Therefore, two ent-kaurene derivatives with and without a cinnamoyl group were examined for the ability to accumulate phosphorylated-Akt (p-Akt) because PTP1B dephosphorylates signal transduction from the insulin receptor such as phosphorylated Akt, a key downstream effector. However, neither compound enhanced insulin-stimulated p-Akt levels in two human hepatoma cell lines (Huh-7 and HepG2) at non-cytotoxic doses.

A New Pyranonaphtoquinone Derivative, 4-Oxo-rhinacanthin A, from Roots of Indonesian Rhinacanthus nasutus.

A new pyranonaphthoquinone derivative, named 4-oxo-rhinacanthin A (1), was isolated from the roots of the Indonesian Rhinacanthus nasutus together with two known congeners, rhinacanthin A (2) and 3,4-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-2H-naphtho[2,3-b]pyran-5,10-dione (3). The structure of 1 was elucidated based on its spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of 1 was assigned by comparing its experimental Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectrum with the calculated ECD spectrum. Compounds 2 and 3 inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus with inhibition zones of 16 and 20 mm at 25 µg/disc, respectively. Compound 3 also exhibited inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis (20 mm at 25 µg/disc).

Isopetrosynol, a New Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B Inhibitor, from the Marine Sponge Halichondria cf. panicea Collected at Iriomote Island.

A new polyacetylene compound, isopetrosynol (1), was isolated from the Okinawan marine sponge Halichondria cf. panicea together with petrosynol (2), adociacetylene D (3), (5R)-3,15,27-triacontatriene-1,29-diyn-5-ol (4), and petrosterol (5). The structure of 1 was assigned on the basis of spectroscopic data for 1 and 2. Compound 1 inhibited protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) activity with an IC50 value of 8.2±0.3 µM, while compound 2, a diastereomer of 1, showed only 28.9±4.5% inhibition at 21.6 µM. The IC50 values of compounds 3 and 4 were 7.8±0.5 and 12.2±0.5 µM, respectively. Oleanolic acid, a positive control, inhibited PTP1B activity at 0.7±0.1 µM (IC50) in the same experiment. The inhibitory activity of 1 was stronger than that of its diastereomer (2). This is the first study to show the inhibitory effects of polyacetylene compounds on PTP1B.