The latest review on the polyphenols and their bioactivities of Chinese Morus plants.

The mulberry tree (Morus alba) plays a key role in agriculture, and its different parts have been used as popular Traditional Chinese Medicines for thousands of years. There are 16 species belonging to the Morus genus. Among them, 11 species distribute in China, most of which have been used as the substitutes of M. alba in local provinces. This review summarizes the structural characters of polyphenols, the main components in Morus, including Diels-Alder-type adducts, flavonoids, 2-arylbenzofurans, and stilbenes, and also their related bioactivities in the last 10 years.

Anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic 2-arylbenzofurans from Morus wittiorum.

Three new 2-arylbenzofurans named wittifuran H, wittifuran I and wittifuran U (1-3) were obtained during our ongoing investigation of an ethanol extract from the stem bark of Morus wittiorum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Compound 2 displayed potent anti-inflammatory activity and selective cytotoxicity against human gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 with an IC(50) value of 1.45µM.

Diferrocen-yl(meth-yl)phenyl-silane.

In the title mol-ecule, [Fe(2)(C(5)H(5))(2)(C(17)H(16)Si)], the cyclo-penta-dienyl rings linked to the same Fe atom are approximately eclipsed and the inter-planar angles are 1.8 (2) and 3.4 (2)°. The Fe atom is slightly closer to the substituted cyclo-penta-dienyl ring.

Ferrocen-yl(meth-yl)diphenyl-silane.

In the title mol-ecule, [Fe(C(5)H(5))(C(18)H(17)Si)], the distances of the Fe atom from the centroids of the unsubstituted and substituted cyclo-penta-dienyl (Cp) rings are 1.651 (1) and 1.646 (1) Å, respectively. The dihedral angle between the two Cp rings is 3.20 (17)°. The crystal packing is mainly stabilized by van der Waals forces.

Five new 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives from Morus wittiorum.

Five new 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives wittifurans A-C, F and G (1-5) have been isolated from the stem bark of Morus wittiorum. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1, 3-5 were evaluated for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities respectively.

Bioactive 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives from Morus wittiorum.

Investigation of an ethanol extract from the stem bark of Morus wittiorum led to the isolation of five new 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives that were named wittifuran S, wittifuran T, wittifuran V, wittifuran W and wittifuran X (1-5). Structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Two new wittifurans and five previously isolated compounds were assayed for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

[Spectroscopic investigation of the poly[(silylene)acetylene silanes]].

In the present paper, a series of novel conjugated polymers, poly[(silylene)acetylene silanes] with different structure, were prepared, and the luminescence performance of the poly[(silylene)acetylene silanes] with different substituents were investigated by the fluorescence and UV absorption spectroscopic approaches. The effect of different substituents and the number of acetylene in the main chain on the luminescence was discussed in depth. The result showed that these polymers have moderate absorbance in the range from 219 to 260 nm. The red shift was showed for the maximum absorbance wavelength following the increase in the number of the acetylene and the degree of the conjugation in the main chain. There was insignificant difference in the maximum absorbance wavelength of the polymers with dimethy and diphenyl. In short, the influence of the substituents is insignificant. However, the remarkable effect was induced by the conjugated structure in the main chain. The conjugated polymers with different structure in the main chain have moderate fluorescence and emission quantum yields. The authors studied the influence of the polymers' structure on the luminescence performance. As a result, the influence of the substituents is insignificant for emission spectra. The influence of the conjugated groups in the main chain of the polymers is remarkable. The maximum emission wavelength of the polymers showed an evident shift to red range with the enhancement of the conjugated extent. These polymers had good thermal properties for the special structures. So they have potential applications for emission materials with good thermal stability.

Wittiorumins A - F, antioxidant diels-alder-type adducts from Morus wittiorum.

Six new Diels-Alder-type adducts, wittiorumins A-F ( 1 - 6) along with the three known compounds chalcomoracin ( 7), mulberrofuran J ( 8), and mongolicin F ( 9), were isolated from the stem bark of Morus wittiorum. Their structures including their absolute configurations were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods. Some of the isolated compounds ( 1 - 4) were assayed for their antioxidant activities, among which compounds 1 - 3 were active as antioxidants, with inhibitory ratios of 73.0 %, 82.0 %, and 82.0 %, respectively, at a concentration of 10 ( - 5) M.

Three new compounds from the barks of Morus nigra.

Three new compounds including two flavonoids and a new 2-phenylbenzofuran, named morunigrols A-C (1-3), together with three known compounds albafuran A (4), albafuran B (5), and mulberrofuran L (6), have been isolated from the barks of Morus nigra. Their structures have been elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

A new Diels-Alder type adduct and two new flavones from the stem bark of Morus yunanensis Koidz.

Fractionation of the ethanolic extract of the stem bark of Morus yunanensis resulted in the isolation of a new Diels-Alder type adduct and two new flavones, named yunanensin A (1), yunanensol A (2) and yunanensol B (3), respectively, together with a known flavone (4). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods. Among them, compound 1 showed moderate antioxidant and significant cytotoxic activities, and compound 2 showed potent anti-inflammatory activity.

Diterpenoids from the roots of Suregada glomerulata.

Six new diterpenoids, 7beta,8alpha-dihydroxy-12-oxo- ent-abietan-16,14-olide ( 1), 3,4,18beta-cyclopropa-7beta,17-dihydroxy- ent-abieta-8(14),13(15)-dien-16,12-olide ( 2), 3alpha,7beta-dihydroxy- ent-abieta-8(14),13(15)-dien-16,12-olide ( 3), 3-oxo-8beta,14beta-epoxy- ent-abieta-11,13(15)-dien-16,12-olide ( 4), 17-hydroxy- ent-pimara-8(14),15-dien-3-one ( 5), and 3alpha,6beta-dihydroxy- ent-kaur-16-ene ( 6), and two known compounds, 7beta-hydroxy- ent-abieta-8(14),13(15)-dien-16,12-olide ( 7) and jolkinolide B, were isolated from roots of Suregada glomerulata. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR and other spectroscopic studies. The structure of compound 1 was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Cytotoxic activities were evaluated against five human tumor cell lines.

[2-Arylbenzofuran derivatives from Morus wittiorum].

The investigation on the stem bark of Morus wittiorum was carried out to find its chemical constituents possessing anti-oxidative activity. The isolation and purification were performed by various chromatographies such as silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, RP-C18 column chromatography and so on. Based on the spectral analysis such as NMR, MS, etc., seven 2-arylbenzofuran derivatives were identified as wittifuran D (1), wittifuran E (2), moracin C (3), moracin M (4), moracin P (5), 2-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,6-dihydroxybenzofuran (6) and mulberroside C (7). Compounds 1-7 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Among them, 1 and 2 were new compounds. Compounds 3-7 were used to assay antioxidant activity, the inhibitory ratios of compounds 3, 4, 6, at a concentration of 1 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1), to malondialdehyde (MDA) produced during microsomal lipid peroxidation induced by ferrous-cysteine were 73%, 69% and 89% respectively.

[Studies on chemical constituents in seeds of Cicer arietinum].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents in seeds of Cicer arietinum, so that to find bioactive natural products. METHOD: Dried and sprouted seeds of C. arietinum were extracted with ethanol of various concentrations respectively, then isolated and purified by silica gel, macroreticular resin D 101, Sephadex LH -20 gel column chromatography, and structures of compounds were identified by spectral analysis. RESULT: Nine compounds have been isolated and identified: 3-hydroxy-olean-12-ene (1), biochanin A-7-O-beta-D-glucoside (2), cerebroside (3), 1-ethyl-alpha-L-galactoside (4), uridine (5), adenosine (6), trytophan (7), biochanin A (8), fomononetin (9). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 were isolated from genus Cicer for the first time.