Chloranthones A - D: minor and unprecedented dinor-eudesmenes from Chloranthus elatior.

Four novel naturally occurring diastereoisomers of dinor-eudesmenes, named chloranthones A-D (1-4, resp.), were isolated as minor components from the EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Chloranthus elatior. The unprecedented framework was established using extensive 2D-NMR techniques. Their absolute configurations were deduced from the observed Cotton effects in their circular dichroism (CD) spectra. A plausible biosynthetic pathway to the dinor-eudesmenes is proposed.

Lignans from the stems of Clematis armandii ("Chuan-Mu-Tong") and their anti-neuroinflammatory activities.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The dried stems of Clematis armandii (Caulis clematidis armandii), named "Chuan-Mu-Tong" in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, have been traditionally used as an herbal remedy mainly for inflammation-associated diseases. The Aim of the study is to identify the potential anti-neuroinflammatory components from Clematis armandii. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ethanol extract of "Chuan-Mu-Tong" was suspended in H2O and exhaustively extracted with CH2Cl2. The CH2Cl2 fraction was successively subjected to column chromatography (CC) over silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods and by comparison with those reported in the literature. Their anti-neuroinflammatory activities were evaluated by inhibitory effects on pro-inflammatory mediators [e.g. nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)] in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated BV-2 cells. RESULTS: One new and sixteen known lignans were isolated and characterized. The absolute configuration of the new lignan, (7R,8S)-9-acetyl-dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (1), was elucidated by a combination of 1D/2D NMR techniques and the Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy based on the empirical helicity rules. The anti-neuroinflammatory bioassay showed that compounds 1, (7R,8S)-dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (2), erythro-guaiacylglycerol-ß-coniferyl ether (5), and threo-guaiacylglycerol-ß-coniferyl ether (6) displayed significant inhibitory effects on NO production. Among them, neolignans 1 and 2 exhibited more potent activities than the positive control (N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine, L-NMMA), with an IC50 value of 9.3 and 3.9 µM, respectively. Moreover, both 1 and 2 were also found to concentration-dependently suppress the TNF-α release in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that lignans are the major components of "Chuan-Mu-Tong", and their anti-neuroinflammatory activities strongly support the traditional application of this herb medicine on inflammation. Moreover, the dihydrobenzo[b]furan neolignans 1 and 2 as well as Caulis clematidis armandii could be further exploited as new therapeutic agents to treat inflammation-mediated neurodegenerative and aging-associated diseases.

Phenolic constituents from the leaves of Cratoxylum formosum ssp. pruniflorum.

One (formosumone A, 1) new and fifteen (2-16) known phenolic compounds were isolated from the leaves of Cratoxylum formosum ssp. pruniflorumm, a substitute for the popular bitter nail tea ("Kuding Tea") generally used in Southeast Asia. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and by comparison with literature data. Compound 1 possesses a rare scaffold of a flavanone coupled with a phloroglucinol moiety, representing the first example of such a scaffold from the Clusiaceae family. Among the isolates, toxyloxanthone B (11) and vismione D (12) were found to show remarkable anti-neuroinflammatory effects by inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine BV-2 microglial cells. Additionally, toxyloxanthone B (11) exhibited significant neuroprotective effect against ß-amyloid(25-35) (Aß(25-35))-induced cell viability decrease in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.