Tectone, a new antihyperglycemic anthraquinone from Tectona grandis leaves.

A new anthraquinone (3,8-dihydroxy-2-methyl anthraquinone), named tectone (1), along with fourteen known compounds (2-15) comprised of five terpenoids (2-5, 15), four flavonoids (6-9), three flavone glycosides (10-12), and two phenolic glycosides (13-14) were isolated from the chloroform and n-butanol fractions of the ethanol extract of Tectona grandis leaves. Attempts were made to synthesize compound 1. This resulted in the synthesis of three additional anthraquinones (16-18), out of which compound 16 is new. The structures of all compounds were established by spectral analysis. The isolated and synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antihyperglycemic activity. Compounds 1, 2, 4 and 14 showed significant antihyperglycemic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight, which is comparable to the standard drug metformin.

Rare dipeptide and urea derivatives from roots of Moringa oleifera as potential anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive agents.

In the course of our studies on the isolation of bioactive compounds from the roots of Moringa oleifera, a traditional herb in southeast Asia, rare aurantiamide acetate 4 and 1,3-dibenzyl urea 5 have been isolated and characterized. And also, this is the first report of isolation from this genus. Isolated compound inhibited the production of TNF-alpha and IL-2; further compound 5 showed significant analgesic activities in a dose dependant manner. These findings may help in understanding the mechanism of action of this traditional plant leading to control of activated mast cells on inflammatory conditions like arthritis, for which the crude extract has been used.