Chiral separation and bioactivities of six pairs of enantiomeric dilignans from Magnolia officinalis var. biloba.

Six pairs of enantiomeric dilignans, (+)/(-)-magdiligols A-F, have been isolated from an ethanolic extract of the barks of Magnolia officinalis var. biloba. Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, NMR calculation with DP4+ analysis, and the electronic circular dichroism spectra calculation. (+)/(-)-1-3 possessed a dihydrobenzopyran ring, while a propyl chain of 1 was linked via ether bond. (+)/(-)-Magdiligols D and E ((+)/(-)-4 and 5) were dilignans possessing a furan ring. (+)-Magdiligol B ((+)/(-)-2), (+)/(-)-magdiligol C ((+)/(-)-3), and racemes 2, 3, and 5 showed potential hepatoprotective effects against APAP-induced HepG2 cell damage, increased the cell viability from 65.4% to 72.7, 78.7.76.6, 73.9, 77.9 and 73.2%, via decreasing the level of the live enzymes ALH and LDH consistently. (+)/(-)-Magdiligols B-D ((+)/(-)-2-4) and (+)/(-)-magdiligol F ((+)/(-)-6) exhibited significant antioxidative activity. (+)/(-)-Magdiligols B-C ((+)/(-)-2 and 3), (-)-magdiligol D ((-)-4), and (+)-magdiligol E ((+)-5) displayed significant PTP1B inhibitory activity with IC50 values 1.41-3.42 µM. (+)/(-)-Magdiligol B ((+)/(-)-2), and its raceme (2) demonstrated α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with the IC50 values 1.47, 2.88 and 1.85 µM, respectively.

Comparative analyses of complete chloroplast genomes reveal interspecific difference and intraspecific variation of Tripterygium genus.

The genus Tripterygium was of great medicinal value and attracted much attention on the taxonomic study using morphological and molecular methods. In this study, we assembled 12 chloroplast genomes of Tripterygium to reveal interspecific difference and intraspecific variation. The sequence length (156,692-157,061 bp) and structure of Tripterygium were conserved. Comparative analyses presented abundant variable regions for further study. Meanwhile, we determined the ndhB gene under positive selection through adaptive evolution analysis. And the phylogenetic analyses based on 15 chloroplast genomes supported the monophyly of Tripterygium hypoglaucum and the potential sister relationship between Tripterygium wilfordii and Tripterygium regelii. Molecular dating analysis indicated that the divergence time within Tripterygium was approximately 5.99 Ma (95% HPD = 3.11-8.68 Ma). The results in our study provided new insights into the taxonomy, evolution process, and phylogenetic construction of Tripterygium using complete plastid genomes.

Meroterpenoids with unknown skeletons from the leaves of Psidium guajava including one anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant compound: psidial F.

Four unknown meroterpenoids named as psidials D-G (1-4) together with 5 known compounds (5-9) had been obtained from the leaves of Psidium guajava. Their absolute structures were elucidated by spectral and calculated methods. Psidials DF (1-3) represented unknown carbon skeleton of the 3,5-diformylbenzyl phloroglucinol-coupled sesquiterpenoid. The possible biosynthetic pathway for 1-3 was postulated. In the bioactivity assay, psidial F (3) was found to possess anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant activities.

Novel oligomeric neolignans with PTP1B inhibitory activity from the bark of Magnolia officinalis var. biloba.

The barks of Magnolia officinalis var. biloba, Magnoliae cortex, have been used as traditional Chinese medicines for several centuries. In this study, phytochemical investigation of M. officinalis var. biloba bark extract afforded five pairs of novel enantiomeric oligomeric neolignans, (±)-mooligomers A-E (1-5). (±)-1 and (±)-2 were two diastereomeric pairs of enantiomers with six C6-C3 subunits, and (±)-4 was a pair of previously unreported tetrameric neolignans bearing eight C6-C3 subunits. (±)-5 is the first example of a naturally occurring trilignan featuring an eight-membered ring with a magnolol moiety. The absolute configurations of (±)-1-(±)-5 were elucidated on the basis of HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Among the compounds tested for their PTP1B inhibitory activities, (±)-2, (±)-4 and (±)-5 displayed significant PTP1B inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 0.14-2.10 µM. Furthermore, a Molecular docking simulation of PTP1B and active compounds [(±)-2, (±)-4 and (±)-5] exhibited that these active compounds possess low binding affinities ranging from - 5.9 to - 7.7 kcal/mol.

A community-based sero-epidemiological study of hepatitis B infection in Lianyungang, China, 2010

Introduction:The 2010 targets of the China Hepatitis B Prevention Programme were a prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) less than 1.0% for children less than five years old and less than 6.0% for the total population. This survey assessed the prevalence of Hepatitis B infection in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China in 2009–2010.Methods:Multistage sampling was used with 2372 subjects among 17 selected villages. Blood specimen collection and testing by enzyme-linked immunosorbnet assay (ELISA) were completed using the following markers for hepatitis infection: HBsAg and antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs); hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and antibody to HBeAg (anti-HBe); and hepatitis B core antibody (total anti-HBc). The data were analysed with Epi Info, version 3.3.2.Results:The prevalence of HBsAg was 2.4% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.8–3.0; Adjusted Prevalence [AP] 2.9%); anti-HBs prevalence was 51.1% (95% CI: 49.1–53.1; AP 49.2%) and total anti-HBc prevalence was 41.7% (95% CI: 39.8–43.7; AP 45.5%). The prevalence of HBsAg and total anti-HBc positivity increased from young to older age groups, yet the prevalence of anti-HBs positivity decreased from young to older age groups (PP= 0.108 and 0.089), but females had a higher prevalence than males for total anti-HBc positivity (P< 0.001). Discussion: This survey showed that in 2010 the prevalence of HBsAg among children aged less than five years was lower than the national target of 1.0% and that the prevalence of HBsAg for the total population was lower than the national target of 6.0%.