Sesterterpenoids and other constituents of Salvia sahendica.

A new sesterterpene (1), a new norsesterterpene (3), and two new norditerpenes (4, 5) were isolated from the aerial parts of Salvia sahendica, together with 12 known compounds, comprising a sesterterpene, a sesquiterpene, a diterpene, two triterpenes, two steroidal compounds, and five flavonoids. The structures of the new compounds were established by spectroscopic data interpretation, and in the case of 4, its structure was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis.

Cytosporones, coumarins, and an alkaloid from the endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis sp. isolated from the Chinese mangrove plant Rhizophoramucronata.

Chemical examination of the endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis sp., isolated from the leaves of the Chinese mangrove Rhizophora mucronata, yielded 11 new compounds including cytosporones J-N (1-3, 5-6), five new coumarins pestalasins A-E (8-12), and a new alkaloid named pestalotiopsoid A (14), along with the known compounds cytosporone C (4), dothiorelone B (7), and 3-hydroxymethyl-6,8-dimethoxycoumarin (13). The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data analysis.

Chromones from the endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis sp. isolated from the chinese mangrove plant Rhizophora mucronata.

Six new chromones, named pestalotiopsones A-F (1-6), and the known derivative 7-hydroxy-2-(2-hydroxypropyl)-5-methylchromone (7) were obtained from the mycelia and culture filtrate of the mangrove endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis sp., which was isolated from leaves of the Chinese Mangrove plant Rhizophora mucronata. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Pestalotiopsones A-F are chromones having both an alkyl side chain substituted at C-2 and a free or substituted carboxyl group at C-5. Compound 6 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against the murine cancer cell line L5178Y, whereas the other investigated compounds proved to be inactive.

Metabolic profiling of lignan variability in Linum species of section Syllinum native to Bulgaria.

Lignans in eighteen samples of Linum species ( L. tauricum ssp. tauricum, serbicum, bulgaricum and linearifolium; L. elegans; L. flavum ssp. sparsiflorum, L. capitatum var. laxiflorum), all members of the section Syllinum occurring in Bulgaria, were analysed by HPLC-ESI/MS and HPLC-UV/DAD. The ESI/MS fragmentation pathways recently established for aryltetralin lignans are now extended to ester and glycoside derivatives. In total, 22 different lignans, mainly of the aryltetralin type, were identified. 6-Methoxypodophyllotoxin and its glucoside were present as major constituents in all samples. Differences between the investigated taxa were observed especially with respect to the accumulation of 6-deoxy-7-hydroxy-aryltetralins such as podophyllotoxin and of 6-hydroxy-7-deoxy-aryltetralin lignans of the peltatin type. The distribution of aryltetralin lignans with different oxygenation patterns in the various samples, and correlations between the chemical data and the molecular phylogeny based on an analysis of ITS sequences of the investigated species are discussed.

Putrescine bisamides from Aglaia gigantea.

Phytochemical analysis of the leaves of Aglaia gigantea collected in Vietnam yielded three cinnamoyl putrescine bisamide derivatives, which included the known compound dasyclamide ( 1), as well as two new natural products, gigantamide A ( 2) and grandiamide D ( 3). In this study, the structure of dasyclamide ( 1) was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The structures of the two new alkaloids, gigantamide A ( 2) and grandiamide D ( 3), were elucidated through extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and analysis of their mass spectrometric (ESIMS, HRQTOFMS) data. The absolute configuration of grandiamide D ( 3) was determined via Mosher ester derivatization.

Antifouling activity of bromotyrosine-derived sponge metabolites and synthetic analogues.

Eighteen brominated sponge-derived metabolites and synthetic analogues were analyzed for antilarval settlement of Balanus improvisus. Only compounds exhibiting oxime substituents including bastadin-3 (4), -4 (1), -9 (2), and -16 (3), hemibastadin-1 (6), aplysamine-2 (5), and psammaplin A (10) turned out to inhibit larval settling at 1 to 10 microM. Analogues of hemibastadin-1 (6) were synthesized and tested for structure activity studies. Debromohemibastadin-1 (8) inhibited settling of B. improvisus, albeit at lower concentrations than hemibastadin-1 (6). Both 6 and 8 also induced cyprid mortality. 5,5'-dibromohemibastadin-1 (7) proved to be nontoxic, but settlement inhibition was observed at 10 microM. Tyrosinyltyramine (9), lacking the oxime function, was not antifouling active and was non-toxic at 100 microM. Hemibastadin-1 (6) and the synthetic products showed no general toxicity when tested against brine shrimp larvae. In contrast to the lipophilic psammaplin A (10), the hydrophilic sulfated psammaplin A derivative (11) showed no antifouling activity even though it contains an oxime group. We therefore hypothesize that the compound needs to cross membranes (probably by diffusion) and that the target for psammaplin A lies intracellularly.

Biologically active natural products from Mongolian medicinal plants Scorzonera divaricata and Scorzonera pseudodivaricata.

Chromatographic separation of a crude extract obtained from the aerial parts of the Mongolian medicinal plant Scorzonera divaricata yielded the two new quinic acid derivatives feruloylpodospermic acids A and B. Both compounds feature a feruloyl group and two dihydrocaffeoyl substituents. For feruloylpodospermic acid A, the dihydrocaffeic acid substituents were found esterified at positions 1 and 5 of the quinic acid moiety, while the feruloyl group was attached at position 3. For feruloylpodospermic acid B, the substituents were linked at positions 1, 3, and 4. The aerial parts of S. pseudodivaricata that are likewise used in Mongolian traditional medicine yielded two further new natural products, for which the names scorzoneric acid and scorzonerin are proposed. Scorzoneric acid is an unusual phenolic compound featuring a central tetrasubstituted phenyl ring to which a glucose unit is bound, which in turn is substituted by an esterified acyl side chain. Further substituents of the central phenyl ring system include a butan-2-one group, which is linked to a second para-substituted phenyl ring system. Scorzonerin is a matricarin-based sesquiterpene lactone that carries an esterified dihydrocoumaric acid moiety, which in turn is glycosidically bound to glucose. The structures of all new compounds were unambiguously established from NMR (1H, 13C, COSY, HMBC) spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. The new quinic acid derivatives feruloylpodospermic acids A and B exhibited strong antioxidative activity when analyzed in the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay.

Kahalalide derivatives from the Indian sacoglossan mollusk Elysia grandifolia.

Two new cyclic depsipeptide derivatives, kahalalides R (1) and S (2), together with two known congeners, kahalalides F (3) and D (4), were isolated from the Indian sacoglossan mollusk Elysia grandifolia. The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic (1H, 13C, COSY, HMBC) and mass spectrometric (FABMS, ESIMS, MALDI-TOF/PSD) data, which also included Marfey amino acid analyses. The new derivative kahalalide R was found to exert comparable or even higher cytotoxicity than the potential drug candidate kahalalide F toward the MCF7 human mammary carcinoma cell line.

Polyphenols from plants used in traditional Indonesian medicine (Jamu): uptake and antioxidative effects in rat H4IIE hepatoma cells.

Phytochemical investigation of plants used in traditional Indonesian medicine (Jamu) yielded lignans (pinoresinol, 9 alpha-hydroxypinoresinol and salicifoliol), flavonoids (3-O-beta-(D)-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-(D)-glucopyranosylkaempferol, luteolin and apigenin) and coumarins (coumarin, 8-hydroxycoumarin and 5-hydroxycoumarin). The beneficial effects of the respective plants for human health are thought to be associated with antioxidative activity. In the present study, the antioxidative capacity of the isolated compounds was determined in an in-vitro assay. Luteolin and kaempferol (cleavage product of 3-O-beta-(D)-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-(D)-glucopyranosylkaempferol, which is thought to be formed in the intestine) showed strong antioxidant activity; pinoresinol and 9 alpha-hydroxypinoresinol showed only minor antioxidative effects. The coumarins, as well as apigenin and 3-O-beta-(D)-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-(D)-glucopyranosylkaempferol were inactive. The antioxidative effects of luteolin, kaempferol and pinoresinol were further investigated in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. A strong protective effect of kaempferol and luteolin was found against H2O2-mediated intracellular reactive oxygen species formation measured using the dichlorofluorescein assay and H2O2-mediated DNA strand breaks. Pinoresinol did not have a protective effect against H2O2-mediated DNA-damage, but in the dichlorofluorescein assay, an antioxidative effect was detectable. During studies with H4IIE cells, kaempferol, luteolin and pinoresinol were taken up by the cells within 60 min. The flavonoids were found to be relatively toxic at higher concentrations, while pinoresinol was less cytotoxic. In conclusion, kaempferol and luteolin, at low concentrations (< or = 50 microM), protect H4IIE cells against oxidative stress but are cytotoxic at higher concentrations; the biological effects of pinoresinol are less prominent in comparison. These results are important for the identification of pharmacologically active substances from traditional Indonesian medicinal plants.

New luffariellolide derivatives from the Indonesian sponge Acanthodendrilla sp.

Investigation of the Indonesian sponge Acanthodendrilla sp. afforded five new luffariellolide-related sesterterpenes, acantholides A-E (1-5), in addition to luffariellolide and its 25-O-methyl and 25-O-ethyl derivatives. All structures were unambiguously established by 1D and 2D NMR and MS spectroscopy. Acantholide D and E are derivatives comprising the 1-acetylcyclopentan-5-ol moiety, which are new variants of the C(14)-C(20) segment for this type of linear sesterterpenes. Luffariellolide and its 25-O-methyl congener as well as acantholide E (5) were cytotoxic against the mouse lymphoma L5187Y cell line. Acantholide B (2), luffariellolide, and its 25-O-methyl congener were active against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, the yeast Candida albicans, and the plant pathogenic fungus Cladosporium herbarum.

New beta-carboline alkaloids from the Andaman Sea sponge Dragmacidon sp.

Chemical investigation of the hithertho undescribed sponge Dragmacidon sp. from the Andaman Sea afforded two new beta-carboline alkaloids, which were named dragmacidonamines A (1) and B (2). The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic (1H, 13C, COSY, 1H detected direct, and long-range 13C-1H correlations) and mass spectrometric (EI and ESIMS) data. The 3-carboxylic-beta-carboline moiety and the thiomethylated imidazolinium unit as found in dragmacidonamines are very rarely encountered in nature.

New imidazole alkaloids from the Indonesian sponge Leucetta chagosensis.

Chemical investigation of the sponge Leucetta chagosensis collected in Indonesia afforded five new imidazole alkaloids, naamine F (2), naamine G (3), kealiinine A (6), kealiinine B (7), and kealiinine C (8), in addition to the known compound naamine A (1). Naamine G (3) exhibited strong antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungus Cladosporium herbarum and also showed mild cytotoxicity against mouse lymphoma (L5178Y) and human cervix carcinoma (HeLa) cell lines. In the brine shrimp assay, kealiinine A (6) was more active than naamine G (3). The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously established by 1D and 2D NMR and MS data.

Eudistomins W and X, two new beta-carbolines from the micronesian tunicate Eudistoma sp.

Chemical investigation of the Micronesian ascidian Eudistoma sp. afforded two new eudistomin congeners, which were designated eudistomins W (1) and X (2). The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic ((1)H, (13)C, COSY, (1)H detected direct, and long-range (13)C-(1)H correlations) and mass spectrometric (EI and ESIMS) data. Compound 2 exhibited antibiotic activity toward Bacillus subtilis, Staphyloccocus aureus, and Escherichia coli and was also found to be fungicidal against Candida albicans in an agar diffusion assay. Compound 1 was selectively active against C. albicans but showed no antibacterial activity.