Cytotoxic ent-abietane diterpenoids, banyangmbolides A-E, from the leaves of Suregada occidentalis.

The chemical investigation of a leaf extract from a herbarium specimen of Suregada occidentalis collected in Banyang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, Southwest Region, Cameroon, yielded five undescribed ent-abietane diterpenoids, banyangmbolides A-E, (1-5), and four known diterpenoids, gelomulides A (6), B (7), D (8) and O (9). The structures of the isolated compounds were determined using NMR, IR, ECD and HRESIMS. Compounds 5, 7 and 8, showed 48-55% inhibition at 200 µM against FM-55-M1 human melanoma cells.

A new 30-norfriedelane triterpnoid from Caloncoba lophocarpa (Oliv.) Gilg. (Achariaceae).

The chemical investigation of the methanol extract of the roots of Caloncoba lophocarpa (Oliv.) Gilg. exhibited a new 30-norfriedelane triterpenoid, laphocarpanol (1), together with seven known compounds, caloncobalactone (2), friedelin (3), friedelanol (4), asperphernamate (5), stigmasterol (6), sitosterol (7) and sitosterol-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (8). The structures of the compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic and spectrometric analyses (1D and 2D NMR, ESI-MS) and by comparison with previously reported data. All the compounds were tested for their antifungal and antibacterial activities. Compound 1 displayed weak antibacterial effect with MIC value of 62.5 µg/mL against Shigella flexineri. All the isolates were found to be inactive against the tested fungal strains.

Antimicrobial and in silico studies of the triterpenoids of Dichapetalum albidum.

Here we report a new polyhydroxylated triterpene, 2ß,6ß,21α-trihydroxyfriedelan-3-one (4) isolated from the root and stem bark of Dichapetalum albidum A. Chev (Dichapetalaceae), along with six known triterpenoids (1-3, 5, 6, 8), sitosterol-3ß-O-D-glucopyranoside (9), a dipeptide (7), and a tyramine derivative of coumaric acid (10). Friedelan-3-one (2) showed an antimicrobial activity (IC50) of 11.40 µg/mL against Bacillus cereus, while friedelan-3α-ol (1) gave an IC50 of 13.07 µg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus with ampicillin reference standard of 19.52 µg/mL and 0.30 µg/mL respectively. 3ß-Acetyl tormentic acid (5) showed an IC50 of 12.50 µg/mL against Trypanosoma brucei brucei and sitosterol-3ß-O-d-glucopyranoside (9) showed an IC50 of 5.06 µg/mL against Leishmania donovani with respective reference standards of IC50 5.02 µg/mL for suramin and IC50 0.27 µg/mL for amphotericin B. Molecular docking of the isolated compounds on the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) suggested 3ß-acetyl tormentic acid (5) and sitosterol-3ß-O-D-glucopyranoside (9) as plausible inhibitors of the enzyme in accordance with the experimental biological results observed.

Fungal Drug Discovery for Chronic Disease: History, New Discoveries and New Approaches.

Fungal-derived drugs include some of the most important medicines ever discovered, and have proved pivotal in treating chronic diseases. Not only have they saved millions of lives, but they have in some cases changed perceptions of what is medically possible. However, now the low-hanging fruit have been discovered it has become much harder to make the kind of discoveries that have characterised past eras of fungal drug discovery. This may be about to change with new commercial players entering the market aiming to apply novel genomic tools to streamline the discovery process. This review examines the discovery history of approved fungal-derived drugs, and those currently in clinical trials for chronic diseases. For key molecules, we discuss their possible ecological functions in nature and how this relates to their use in human medicine. We show how the conservation of drug receptors between fungi and humans means that metabolites intended to inhibit competitor fungi often interact with human drug receptors, sometimes with unintended benefits. We also plot the distribution of drugs, antimicrobial compounds and psychoactive mushrooms onto a fungal tree and compare their distribution to those of all fungal metabolites. Finally, we examine the phenomenon of self-resistance and how this can be used to help predict metabolite mechanism of action and aid the drug discovery process.

Antiangiogenic Pterocarpan and Flavonoid Constituents of Erythrina lysistemon.

The roots of Erythrina lysistemon, growing in Egypt, yielded 24 flavonoid compounds, including 17 pterocarpans, two isoflavanones, one flavanone, two isoflavans, one 2-arylbenzofuran, and an isoflava-3-ene. Nine pterocarpans have not been reported previously (7-9, 11-14, 19, and 20), and 11 are reported here for the first time from this species. Structures were established using HRESIMS, NMR, and circular dichroism techniques. Selected compounds were tested for their ability to block the growth of human retinal endothelial cells and antiangiogenic activity in vitro. The isoflavonoids 5 and 6, and the pterocarpans 1, 2, 4, 20, and 22 demonstrated selective antiproliferative activities on endothelial cells compared to a nonendothelial cell type, with concentration-dependent antiangiogenic effects in vitro against HRECs, a cell type relevant to neovascular eye diseases.

Evidence for Natural Products as Alternative Wound-Healing Therapies.

Chronic, non-healing wounds represent a significant area of unmet medical need and are a growing problem for healthcare systems around the world. They affect the quality of life for patients and are an economic burden, being difficult and time consuming to treat. They are an escalating problem across the developed world due to the increasing incidence of diabetes and the higher prevalence of ageing populations. Effective treatment options are currently lacking, and in some cases chronic wounds can persist for years. Some traditional medicines are believed to contain bioactive small molecules that induce the healing of chronic wounds by reducing excessive inflammation, thereby allowing re-epithelisation to occur. Furthermore, many small molecules found in plants are known to have antibacterial properties and, although they lack the therapeutic selectivity of antibiotics, they are certainly capable of acting as topical antiseptics when applied to infected wounds. As these molecules act through mechanisms of action distinct from those of clinically used antibiotics, they are often active against antibiotic resistant bacteria. Although there are numerous studies highlighting the effects of naturally occurring small molecules in wound-healing assays in vitro, only evidence from well conducted clinical trials can allow these molecules or the remedies that contain them to progress to the clinic. With this in mind, we review wound-healing natural remedies that have entered clinical trials over a twenty-year period to the present. We examine the bioactive small molecules likely to be in involved and, where possible, their mechanisms of action.

Anti-HIV crotocascarin ω from Kenyan Croton dichogamus.

An anti-HIV methanol-soluble fraction of a 1:1 CH2Cl2:CH3OH extract of twigs of a Kenyan Croton dichogamus yielded seven compounds, the new crotocascarin ω (1), the known ß-oplopanone (2), dihydroconiferyl acetate (3), 3'(4''-hydroxyphenyl)-propyl benzoate (4), lupeol, sitosterol and stigmasterol. Crotocascarin ω (90%) inhibited HIV-1 replication with an IC50 value of 5.3 nM, and the compound was cytotoxic towards MT-4 cells presenting an IC50 value of 84 µM. In silico modelling showed that the anti-HIV activity for compound 1 could be through the HIV-1 protease inhibition.

Anti-HIV Ermiasolides from Croton megalocarpus.

In recent years, elucidation of novel anti-HIV bioactive compounds from natural products is gaining importance rapidly, not only from the research and publications, but also from controlled clinical studies. Here we report three new anti-HIV eudesmane-type sesquiterpenes, 5ß-Hydroxy-8α-methoxy eudesm-7(11)-en-12,8-olide (1), 5ß,8α-Dihydroxy eudesm-7(11)-en-12,8-olide (2) and 5ß-Hydroxy-8H-ß-eudesm-7(11)-en-12,8-olide (3). These are trivially named ermiasolide A-C and were isolated from the bark of Croton megalocarpus. 5ß-Hydroxy-8α-methoxy eudesm-7(11)-en-12,8-olide (1), showed the highest anti-HIV activity by inhibiting 93% of the viral replication with an IC50 = 0.002 µg/mL. On the other hand, 5ß-Hydroxy-8H-ß-eudesm-7(11)-en-12,8-olide (3) and 5ß,8α-dihydroxy eudesm-7(11)-en-12,8-olide (2), inhibited viral replication by 77.5% at IC50 = 0.04 µg/mL and 69.5% at IC50 = 0.002 µg/mL, respectively. Molecular docking studies showed that the proposed mechanism of action leading to these results is through the inhibition of HIV-protease.

Chemical Constituents of the Stem Bark of the Hybrid Plant Citrus × paradisi Macfad. (Rutaceae).

The stem bark of Citrus × paradisi Macfad. (Rutaceae) gave (23S)-isolimonexic acid (1), limonin (2), citracridone II (3), citpressine II (4), citpressine I (5), grandisine (6), 2-hydroxynoracronycine (7), citracridone I (8), 5-methoxyseselin (9), umbelliferone (10), scopoletin (11), naringenin (12), apigenin (13), friedelin (14), agrostophyllinone (15) and stigmasterol-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (16). The structures of the compounds were determined using NMR and MS spectroscopic data, and by comparison with published data. The relative configuration of 1 was proposed as (23S)-isolimonexic acid using NOE studies. Hydrogenation reaction of compound 3 led to the new derivative 3',4'-dihydrocitracridone II (3a). Cytotoxicity activities against the human adenocarcinoma alveolar basal epithelial cell lines A549 and the Caucasian prostate adenocarcinoma cell lines PC3, using the MTT assays showed that the methanol crude extract was significant with IC50 values of 30.1 and 31.7 µg/mL, respectively, with the positive control, doxorubicin giving an IC50 of 0.9 µM. In addition, compounds 3, 7 and 8 gave moderate cytotoxic activities with IC50 values of 33.1, 31.2 and 32.5 µM for A549 cells and 35.7, 33.8 and 34.9 µM for PC3 cells, respectively. The hydrogenated 3a was less active than 3, suggesting that the presence of the double bond in pyrans is important for structure-activity relationship.

Constituents of Croton megalocarpus with Potential Anti-HIV Activity.

Reported herein is an anti-HIV monochlorinated compound, 1ß-acetoxy-3ß-chloro-5α,6α-dihydroxycrotocascarin L (1), of the rare crotofolane diterpenoid class. Compound 1, a suspected artifact of extraction, along with the previously undescribed 11ß-acetoxycrotocascarin L (2) and a known compound, crotocascarin K (3), were isolated from the bark of Croton megalocarpus, a Kenyan oil-producing seed crop. Compounds 1 and 3 inhibited HIV-1 replication with IC50 values of 28 and 5.5 nM, respectively. Furthermore, both compounds lacked cytotoxicity toward MT-4 cells and FM-55-M1 cells at concentrations of up to 50 µM. Compounds 1 and 3 were both found to inhibit HIV-1 protease.

In vitro anti-HIV and cytotoxic effects of pure compounds isolated from Croton macrostachyus Hochst. Ex Delile.

Croton macrostachyus is an important plant in traditional African medicine, widely utilized to treat a variety of diseases. In Kenya, HIV-infected patients use leaf and root decoctions of the plant as a cure for cough, back pain, bleeding, skin diseases, warts, pneumonia, and wounds. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-HIV activities and cytotoxic effects of extracts and chemical constituents isolated from C. macrostachyus. In our previous study we demonstrated that the hexane, CH2Cl2, ethyl acetate and methanol soluble fractions of a 1:1 v/v/ CH2Cl2/MeOH crude extracts of the leaves and stem bark of C. macrostachyus exhibited potent anti-HIV activities against HIV-1 with IC50 values ranging from 0.02-8.1 µg/mL and cytotoxicity effects against MT-4 cells ranging from IC50 = 0.58-174 µg/mL. Hence, hexane soluble extract of 1:1 v/v/ CH2Cl2/MeOH crude extract of the leaves of C. macrostachyus, that was more potent against HIV-1 at IC50 = 0.02 µg/mL was subjected to column chromatography leading to the isolation of 2-methoxy benzyl benzoate (1), lupenone (2), lupeol acetate (3), betulin (4), lupeol (5), sitosterol (6) and stigmasterol (7). Lupenone (2), lupeol acetate (3) and betulin (4) exhibited anti-HIV-1 inhibition at IC50 = 4.7 nM, 4.3 and 4.5 µg/mL respectively. The results obtained from this study support the potential of C. macrostachyus, as a source of anti-HIV constituents.

HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitory Effects of Major Compounds Present in CareVid™: An Anti-HIV Multi-Herbal Remedy.

In our continued study on the anti-HIV activity of compounds present in CareVidTM, we report the HIV-1 integrase ((HIV-1 IN) inhibitory effects of pellitorine (1), oleuropein (2), magnoflorine (3), crotepoxide (4), ent-kaurane-16ß,17-diol (5), crotocorylifuran (6), lupeol (7), betulin (8), and ellagic acid (9) in an in vitro enzyme assay, and in an in silico study. Ellagic acid, pellitorine, lupeol, and betulin showed an in vitro percentage inhibition against HIV-1 IN of 21.1%, 19.0%, 18.5%, and 16.8%, respectively, at a standard concentration of 25 µg/mL. However, from a pharmacokinetic perspective, ellagic acid has poor bioavailability, due to rapid elimination in metabolism in the gut microbiome. It was postulated that known gut catabolites of ellagic acid, urolithin A (10) and urolithin B (11) could be more promising candidates in exploring the anti-HIV activity of ellagic acid-rich medicinal species consumed orally. On the contrary, urolithin A and urolithin B demonstrated lower activity with comparison to ellagic acid. The binding affinity of compounds 1-9, urolithin A, and urolithin B against the catalytic domain of HIV-1 IN was also explored by in silico methods. Docking studies showed oleuropein as the best candidate, with a predicted energy of binding of ΔG -5.81 kcal/mol, while ellagic acid showed moderate predicted inhibition (ΔG -4.38 kcal/mol) caused by the interaction between the carbonyl and the key Mg2+ ion in the active site.

A New Antimicrobial Phenylpropanol from the Leaves of Tabernaemontana inconspicua Stapf. (Apocynaceae) Inhibits Pathogenic Gram-Negative Bacteria.

A chemical investigation of the leaves of Tabernaemontana inconspicua Stapf. led to the isolation of a new phenylpropanol derivative, namely irisdichototin G (1), together with nine known compounds, including one polyol derivative, dambonitol (2); three alkaloids, 10-hydroxycoronaridine (3), voacristine (4) and vobasine (5); two triterpenes lupeol (6), betulinic acid (7) and three sterols, sitosterol (8), sitosterol-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside (9) and stigmasterol (10). The structure of the new compound, as well as those of the known ones, was established by means of spectroscopic methods: NMR analysis (1H and 13C NMR, 1H-1H-COSY, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) and comparisons with previously reported data. Among the known compounds, compound 2 was firstly reported from the family Apocynaceae. Compounds 1-5 were tested for their antimicrobial effects against three Gram-negative organisms associated with human wound and systemic infections, namely Haemophilus influenzae 9435337A, Klebsiella pneumoniae 17102005 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2137659B. Compounds 1, 3, and 5 showed significant antimicrobial effects with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 62.5 µg/mL, 62.5 µg/mL and 7.81 µg/mL, respectively, against Haemophilus influenzae, whereas compounds 1 and 5 showed significant antimicrobial effects, with a MIC value of 31.25 µg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, compound 3 showed significant antimicrobial activity, with a MIC value of 31.25 µg/mL against Klebsiella pneumoniae.

HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Inhibition by Major Compounds in a Kenyan Multi-Herbal Composition (CareVid™): In Vitro and In Silico Contrast.

CareVid is a multi-herbal product used in southwest Kenya as an immune booster and health tonic and has been anecdotally described as improving the condition of HIV-positive patients. The product is made up of roots, barks and whole plant of 14 African medicinal plants: Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile (currently, Vachelia nilotica (L.) P.J.H Hurter & Mabb.), Adenia gummifera (Harv.) Harms, Anthocleista grandiflora Gilg, Asparagus africanus Lam., Bersama abyssinica Fresen., Clematis hirsuta Guill. & Perr., Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile, Clutia robusta Pax (accepted as Clutia kilimandscharica Engl.), Dovyalis abyssinica (A. Rich.) Warb, Ekebergia capensis Sparm., Periploca linearifolia Quart.-Dill. & A. Rich., Plantago palmata Hook.f., Prunus africana Hook.f. Kalkman and Rhamnus prinoides L'Her. The objective of this study was to determine the major chemical constituents of CareVid solvent extracts and screen them for in vitro and in silico activity against the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase enzyme. To achieve this, CareVid was separately extracted using CH2Cl2, MeOH, 80% EtOH in H2O, cold H2O, hot H2O and acidified H2O (pH 1.5-3.5). The extracts were analysed using HPLC-MS equipped with UV diode array detection. HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition was performed in vitro and compared to in silico HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition, with the latter carried out using MOE software, placing the docking on the hydrophobic pocket in the subdomain of p66, the NNRTI pocket. The MeOH and 80% EtOH extracts showed strong in vitro HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition, with an EC50 of 7 µg·mL-1. The major components were identified as sucrose, citric acid, ellagic acid, catechin 3-hexoside, epicatechin 3-hexoside, procyanidin B, hesperetin O-rutinoside, pellitorine, mangiferin, isomangiferin, 4-O-coumaroulquinic acid, ellagic acid, ellagic acid O-pentoside, crotepoxide, oleuropein, magnoflorine, tremulacin and an isomer of dammarane tetrol. Ellagic acid and procyanidin B inhibited the HIV-1 reverse transcription process at 15 and 3.2 µg/mL-1, respectively. Docking studies did not agree with in vitro results because the best scoring ligand was crotepoxide (ΔG = -8.55 kcal/mol), followed by magnoflorine (ΔG = -8.39 kcal/mol). This study showed that CareVid has contrasting in vitro and in silico activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. However, the strongest in vitro inhibitors were ellagic acid and procyanidin B.

The Diversity of Volatile Compounds in Australia's Semi-Desert Genus Eremophila (Scrophulariaceae).

Australia's endemic desert shrubs are commonly aromatic, with chemically diverse terpenes and phenylpropanoids in their headspace profiles. Species from the genus Eremophila (Scrophulariaceae ex. Myoporaceae) are the most common, with 215 recognised taxa and many more that have not yet been described, widely spread across the arid parts of the Australian continent. Over the years, our research team has collected multiple specimens as part of a survey to investigate the chemical diversity of the genus and create leads for further scientific enquiry. In the current study, the diversity of volatile compounds is studied using hydrodistilled essential oils and leaf solvent extracts from 30 taxa. Several rare terpenes and iridoids were detected in chemical profiles widely across the genus, and three previously undescribed sesquiterpenes were isolated and are assigned by 2D NMR-E-11(12)-dehydroisodendrolasin, Z-11-hydroxyisodendrolasin and 10-hydroxydihydro-α-humulene acetate. Multiple sampling from Eremophila longifolia, Eremophila arbuscular, Eremophila latrobei, Eremophila deserti, Eremophila sturtii, Eremophila oppositifolia and Eremophila alternifolia coneys that species in Eremophila are highly chemovariable. However, taxa are generally grouped according to the expression of (1) furanosesquiterpenes, (2) iridoids or oxides, (3) mixtures of 1 and 2, (4) phenylpropanoids, (5) non-furanoid terpenes, (6) mixtures of 4 and 5, and less commonly (7) mixtures of 1 and 5. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis of solvent-extracted leaves taken from cultivated specimens conveys that many heavier 'volatiles' with lower vapour pressure are not detected in hydrodistilled essential oils and have therefore been neglected in past chemical studies. Hence, our data reiterate that chemical studies of the genus Eremophila will continue to describe new metabolites and that taxon determination has limited predictive value for the chemical composition.

Ent-clerodane and ent-trachylobane diterpenoids from Croton dictyophlebodes.

The stem bark and root bark extracts of Croton dictyophlebodes (Euphorbiaceae) yielded seven undescribed ent-clerodanes: 15,16-epoxy-17,12(S)-olide-ent-cleroda-1,3,13(16),14-tetraen-18-oic acid methyl ester (crotodictyo A), 3ß,4ß:15,16-diepoxy-ent-cleroda-13(16),14-dien-20-al (crotodictyo B), 3ß,4ß:15,16-diepoxy-ent-cleroda-13(16),14-dien-19,20-dioic acid (crotodictyo C), 3ß,4ß:15,16-diepoxy-ent-cleroda-13(16),14-dien-20,19-olide (crotodictyo D), 3ß,4ß:15,16-diepoxy-20,12(R)-olide ent-cleroda-13(16),14-dien-19-oic acid methyl ester (crotodictyo E), 15,16-epoxy-ent-cleroda-3,13(16),14-trien-12-oxo-18-oic acid (crotodictyo F) and 15,16-epoxy-ent-cleroda-1,3,13(16),14-tetraen-12-oxo-18-oic acid (crotodictyo G), in addition to 15,16-epoxy- ent-cleroda-3,13(16),14-trien-12-oxo-18-oic acid methyl ester (crotodictyo H), reported previously as a synthetic derivative, and acetyl aleuritolic acid. The root extract yielded two ent-trachylobanes, ent-trachylobane-18,19-diol, the undescribed ent-trachylobane-2α,19-diol, along with ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid and 2-methoxybenzyl benzoate. Compounds were evaluated against the NCI 60 panel of human tumour cell lines at a single dose of 10-5 M, but showed no significant activity.

Cytotoxic diterpenoids from the leaves and stem bark of Croton haumanianus (Euphorbiaceae).

The leaf extract of Croton haumanianus J. Léonard (Euphorbiaceae) yielded twenty-six compounds, including eight previously reported ent-kauranes and an ent-labdane and eight undescribed ent-kauranes, ent-16R-kauran-17-al, ent-3ß-hydroxy-16R-kauran-17-al, ent-16S,17-epoxykauran-19-ol, ent-16S,17-epoxykauran-3ß-ol, ent-17-palmityloxykaurane-3ß,16ß-diol, ent-17-palmityloxykauran-16ß-ol, ent-3α,18-cyclokaurane-16ß,17-diol and 19-nor-16α,17-dihydroxy-ent-kaur-4(18)-ene and three undescribed ent-clerodanes, dimethyl ent-15,16-epoxy-6ß-hydroxy-1,3,13(16),14-clerodatetraen-20,12S-olide-18,19-dioate (saniolide A), dimethyl ent-15,16-epoxy-6ß-hydroxy-1,3,13(16),14-clerodatetraen-20,12R-olide-18,19-dioate (12-epi-saniolide A), methyl ent-15,16-epoxy-1,3,13(16),14-clerodatetraen-18,6R:20,12S-diolide-19-oate (saniolide B). The stem bark extract yielded the ent-clerodane crotocorylifuran, and five undescribed ent-isopimaranes, ent-isopimara-8(14),15-dien-18-al, ent-18-hydroxyisopimara-8(14),15-dien-7-one, ent-isopimara-7,15-dien-18-oic acid, ent-isopimara-7,15-dien-18-ol and ent-isopimara-8,15-dien-7-oxo-18-oic acid. Three compounds, ent-kaurane-3ß,16ß,17-triol, ent-17-palmityloxykaurane-3ß,16ß-diol and ent-17-palmityloxykauran-16ß-ol, showed selective activity against three of the NCI 60 cancer cell lines, the colon (HCT-116), the melanoma (M14) and the renal (786-0) cancer cell lines at a concentration of 10-5 M.

Vasorelaxing Activity of Stilbenoid and Phenanthrene Derivatives from Brasiliorchis porphyrostele: Involvement of Smooth Muscle CaV1.2 Channels.

Five compounds, 3,4'-dihydroxy-3',5,5'-trimethoxydihydrostilbene, 1: ; 3,4'-ihydroxy-3',5'-dimethoxydihydrostilbene, 2: ; 3,4'-dihydroxy-5,5'-dimethoxydihydrostilbene, 3: ; 9,10-dihydro-2,7-dihydroxy-4,6-dimethoxyphenanthrene, 4: ; and the previously unreported 1,2,6,7-tetrahydroxy-4-methoxyphenanthrene, 5: were isolated from the South American orchid, Brasiliorchis porphyrostele. An in-depth analysis of their vascular effects was performed on in vitro rat aorta rings and tail main artery myocytes. Compounds 1:  - 4: were shown to possess vasorelaxant activity on rings pre-contracted by the α 1 receptor agonist phenylephrine, the CaV1.2 stimulator (S)-(-)-Bay K 8644, or depolarized with high K+ concentrations. However, compound 5: was active solely on rings stimulated by 25 mM but not 60 mM K+. The spasmolytic activity of compounds 1: and 4: was significantly affected by the presence of an intact endothelium. The KATP channel blocker glibenclamide and the KV channel blocker 4-aminopyridine significantly antagonized the vasorelaxant activity of compounds 4: and 1: , respectively. In patch-clamp experiments, compounds 1:  - 4: inhibited Ba2+ current through CaV1.2 channels in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas neither compound 4: nor compound 1: affected K+ currents through KATP and KV channels, respectively. The present in vitro, comprehensive study demonstrates that Brasiliorchis porphyrostele may represent a source of vasoactive agents potentially useful for the development of novel antihypertensive agents that has now to be validated in vivo in animal models of hypertension.

An aza-nucleoside, fragment-like inhibitor of the DNA repair enzyme alkyladenine glycosylase (AAG).

The DNA repair enzyme AAG has been shown in mice to promote tissue necrosis in response to ischaemic reperfusion or treatment with alkylating agents. A chemical probe inhibitor is required for investigations of the biological mechanism causing this phenomenon and as a lead for drugs that are potentially protective against tissue damage from organ failure and transplantation, and alkylative chemotherapy. Herein, we describe the rationale behind the choice of arylmethylpyrrolidines as appropriate aza-nucleoside mimics for an inhibitor followed by their synthesis and the first use of a microplate-based assay for quantification of their inhibition of AAG. We finally report the discovery of an imidazol-4-ylmethylpyrrolidine as a fragment-sized, weak inhibitor of AAG.

Bufadienolides and anti-angiogenic homoisoflavonoids from Rhodocodon cryptopodus, Rhodocodon rotundus and Rhodocodon cyathiformis.

BACKGROUND: Homoisoflavonoids have been shown to have potent anti-proliferative activities in endothelial cells over other cell types and have demonstrated a strong antiangiogenic potential in vitro and in vivo in animal models of ocular neovascularization. Three species of Rhodocodon (Scilloideaea subfamily of the Asparagaceae family), endemic to Madagascar, R. cryptopodus, R. rotundus and R. cyathiformis, were investigated. PURPOSE: To isolate and test homoisoflavonoids for their antiangiogenic activity against human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRECs), as well as specificity against other ocular cell lines. METHODS: Plant material was extracted at room temperature with EtOH. Compounds were isolated using flash column chromatography and were identified using NMR and CD spectroscopy and HRESIMS. Compounds were tested for antiproliferative effects on primary human microvascular retinal endothelial cells (HRECs), ARPE19 retinal pigment epithelial cells, 92-1 uveal melanoma cells, and Y79 retinoblastoma cells. HRECs exposed to compounds were also tested for migration and tube formation ability. RESULTS: Two homoisoflavonoids, 3S-5,7-dihydroxy-(3'-hydroxy-4'-methoxybenzyl)-4-chromanone (1) and 3S-5,7-dihydroxy-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxybenzyl)-4-chromanone (2), were isolated along with four bufadienolides. Compound 1 was found to be non-specifically antiproliferative, with GI50 values ranging from 0.21-0.85 µM across the four cell types, while compound 2 showed at least 100-fold specificity for HRECs over the other tested cell lines. Compound 1, with a 3S configuration, was 700 times more potent that the corresponding 3R enantiomer recently isolated from a Massonia species. CONCLUSION: Select homoisoflavonoids have promise as antiangiogenic agents that are not generally cytotoxic.