Lignans from the leaves of Styrax japonicus and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Five novel lignans, namely styraxjaponica A-E (1-5), together with eight known compounds (6-13) were isolated from the leaves of Styrax japonicus Siebold & Zucc. Their chemical structures were characterized by extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR, HRESIMS spectroscopic analysis as well as by comparison to the literature. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were further determined by quantum chemical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations powered by time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effects of compounds 1-5 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells were also evaluated by measuring nitric oxide (NO) concentrations. All compounds displayed significant anti-inflammatory activity without affecting cell viability in vitro.

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, network analysis, and molecular docking to investigate the effect and active ingredients of tea-seed oil against bacterial pathogens.

Object: This research intended to probe the antibacterial effect and pharmacodynamic substances of Tea-Seed Oil (TSO) through the use of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) analysis, network analysis, and molecular docking. Methods: The major chemical components in the methanol-extracted fractions of TSO were subjected to UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques were integrated to investigate the core components, targets, and potential mechanisms of action through which the TSO exert their antibacterial properties. To evaluate the inhibitory effects, the minimum inhibitory concentration and diameter of the bacteriostatic circle were calculated for the potential active ingredients and their equal ratios of combinatorial components (ERCC) against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. Moreover, the quantification of the active constituents within TSO was achieved through the utilization of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: The methanol-extracted fractions contained a total of 47 chemical components, predominantly consisting of unsaturated fatty acids and phenolic compounds. The network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking analysis revealed that various components, including gallocatechin, gallic acid, epigallocatechin, theophylline, chlorogenic acid, puerarin, and phlorizin, have the ability to interact with critical core targets such as serine/threonine protein kinase 1 (AKT1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a monoclonal antibody to mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), HSP90AA1, and estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1). Furthermore, these components can modulate the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase protein kinase B (PI3K-AKT), estrogen, MAPK and interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling pathways, hereby exerting antibacterial effects. In vitro validation trials have found that seven components, namely gallocatechin, gallic acid, epigallocatechin, theophylline, chlorogenic acid, puerarin, and phloretin, displayed substantial inhibitory effects on E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and C. albicans, and are typically present in tea oil, with a total content ranging from 15.87∼24.91 µg·g-1. Conclusion: The outcomes of this investigation possess the possibility to expand our knowledge base concerning the utilization of TSO, furnish a theoretical framework for the exploration of antibacterial drugs and cosmetics derived from inherently occurring TSO, and establish a robust groundwork for the advancement and implementations of TOS products within clinical settings.

[A new sesquiterpene lactone from biological transformation of Hericium erinaceus and Artemisiae Annuae Herba].

This study aimed to investigate the chemical constituents from the biological transformation of Hericium erinaceus and Artemisiae Annuae Herba(HQ biological transformation). The chemical constituents of ethyl acetate fraction of 75% ethanol extract in HQ biological transformation were separated and purified by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatographies together with semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Their structures were identified by physicochemical properties, spectroscopic analysis, as well as comparisons with the data reported in literature. Nine compounds were isolated and identified as 2α-hydroxydeoxyartemisinin(1), 6ß-hydroxy-stigmast-4,22-dien-3-one(2), 3ß,5α-dihydroxy-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one(3), friedelin(4), dankasterone(5), ergosterol endoperoxide(6), 3ß-hydroxy-5,9-epoxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one(7), 3α,5α,9α-trihydroxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one(8), and stigmast-3-one(9). Compound 1 was a new sesquiterpene lactone named 2α-hydroxy-deoxyartemisinin. The activity against Helicobacter pylori(Hp) of compounds 1-9 in vitro was determined by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The screening results showed compounds 1, 2 and 5 had certain anti-Hp activity.