ABSTRACT
Three new rearranged ent-kaurane-type diterpenoids (1-3) and seven new ent-kaurane-type diterpenoids (4-10) have been isolated from the liverwort Jungermannia atrobrunnea. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic techniques and X-ray crystallographic analysis. The absolute configurations of these compounds were clarified by CD spectroscopic studies. Compound 1 is the first example of a rearranged ent-kaurane diterpenoid possessing a peroxide bridge.
Subject(s)
Diterpenes, Kaurane/isolation & purification , Hepatophyta/chemistry , Circular Dichroism , Crystallography, X-Ray , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Models, Molecular , Molecular StructureABSTRACT
Phytochemical studies on the aerial parts of Dracocephalum rupestre led to the isolation of four groups of flavonoidal alkaloids, dracocephins A-D. They were elucidated as conjugates of flavanone with pyrrolidin-2-one on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. The two stereogenic centers rendered each group of the dracocephins as two pairs of enantiomers simultaneously. All of the sixteen isomers were separated successfully by chiral HPLC and their stereochemical features were determined by their CD data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of one stereoisomer. The additive relation of the chiroptical contributions resulting from the two stereogenic centers was generalized. The CD contribution of the chiral carbon in the pyrrolidin-2-one ring was proposed by subtraction of their respective contributions.
Subject(s)
Alkaloids/chemistry , Flavonoids/chemistry , Lamiaceae/chemistry , Models, Molecular , Molecular Structure , Plant Components, AerialABSTRACT
All of the four stereoisomers of an unprecedented type of flavanones, the dracorupesins, were separated from the aerial parts of Dracocephalum rupestre simultaneously. The dracorupesins were characterized as two diastereomeric pairs of enantiomers by on-line chiral high-performance liquid chromatography-circular dichroism (HPLC-CD) analysis, which was a reliable stereoanalytical tool for natural products. The planar structures of the compounds were elucidated by means of spectroscopic methods including IR, MS, one-dimensional NMR (1D-NMR) and two-dimensional NMR (2D-NMR) techniques.
Subject(s)
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods , Circular Dichroism/methods , Flavanones/isolation & purification , Lamiaceae/chemistry , Flavanones/chemistry , Molecular Structure , Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization , StereoisomerismABSTRACT
AIM: To further uncover the possible mechanism of quercetin-mediated inhibitory effect on prostate cancer cells. METHODS: The cell extracts treated with quercetin or without treatment were used for checking protein expression levels of c-Jun and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB)-binding protein (CBP) by Western blotting assay. Regulatory effects of c-Jun and CBP on the function of androgen receptor (AR) were examined by cotransfection experiment. Finally, a physical interaction of c-Jun and the AR was investigated by coimmunoprecipitation. RESULTS: Quercetin dramatically induced the protein expression of c-Jun which in turn inhibited the AR function. Meanwhile, quercetin had no detectable effect on CBP expression, and the results of transient transfection demonstrated that the ectopic CBP stimulated the transcriptional activity of AR, whereas CBP-mediated stimulation could be attenuated by quercetin. Furthermore, physical interaction of c-Jun and the AR was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation result. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of c-Jun induced by quercetin had inhibitory effect on the function of AR protein, and increased CBP expression did not reverse the inhibition by quercetin. Together, quercetin-mediated inhibition on the AR function might be not by competition with limited amount of CBP in the cell, but through a direct association of c-Jun and the AR.
