Agents protecting against sepsis from the roots of Angelica dahurica.

In the course of isolating agents preventing sepsis from the EtOAc extract of the roots of Angelica dahurica, four known furanocoumarins, isoimperatorin (1), oxypeucedanin (2), (+/-)-byakangelicin (3), and (+)-oxypeucedanin hydrate (4), were isolated as active compounds based on the in vivo assay model of sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and D-galactosamine (D-GalN). Among them, 3 showed the highest survival rate (100% with a dose of 30 mg/kg versus 20% for the control experiment) and decreased the plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and alanine aminotransferase in mice adminstered LPS/D-GalN.

Protective constituents against sepsis in mice from the root cortex of Paeonia suffruticosa.

The bioassay-guided fractionation of protective agents against sepsis-induced lethality from the root cortex of Paeonia suffruticosa ANDREWS (Ranunculaceae) led to the isolation of eight known compounds: paeonol (1), 2,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxyacetophenone (2), acetovanillone (3), paeonoside (4), paeoniflorin (5), oxypaeoniflorin (6), apiopaeonoside (7), and methyl 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoate (8). Among them, 3 showed the highest survival rate (100% with a dose of 30 mg/kg versus 17% for the control experiment) and reduced alanine aminotransferase level to be a half of the control value on the sepsis model induced by lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine.

Preventive agents against sepsis and new phenylpropanoid glucosides from the fruits of Illicium verum.

The bioassay-guided fractionation of preventive agents against lethality due to septic shock from the fruits of Illicium verum led to the isolation of two known racemic mixtures of phenylpropanoids, [1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 R,2 S and 1 S,2 R)-propanediol (1) and 1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 R,2 R and 1 S,2 S)-propanediol (2)], along with two known phenylpropanoid glucosides, [1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 S,2 R)-propan-1-ol 2-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3) and 1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 R,2 S)-propan-1-ol 2-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside ( 5)], and two new phenylpropanoid glucosides, [1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 S,2 S)-propan-1-ol 2- O-beta- D-glucopyranoside (4) and 1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 R,2 R)-propan-1-ol 2-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6)]. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Among them, 1 exhibited the highest survival rate in a dose-dependent manner (100 % with a dose of 10 mg/kg against 40 % for the control experiment) and showed a reduction of the plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) value on the in vivo assay model of septic shock induced by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha.

DNA topoisomerases I and II inhibitory activity of constituents isolated from Juglans mandshurica.

Nine diarylheptanoids (1-9), one triterpene (10), one sesquiterpenoid (11), one naphthoquinone (12), four tetralones (13-16), one naphthalene carboxylic acid glucoside (17) and six naphthalenyl glycosides (18-23) were isolated from the roots of Juglans mandshurica Maximowicz (Juglandaceae), and their structures determined from the chemical and spectral data. Here, we report the inhibitory effects, on the DNA topoisomerases I and II activities, of all these compounds. Compounds 10 and 23 showed more potent inhibitory effects, on the DNA topoisomerases I and II (94.0 and 86.0% inhibitions at the concentration of 5 microg/mL, respectively), than the positive control compounds, camptothecin and etoposide.