Anti-aging and mechanism of 2-O-cinnamic acid magnolol / 药学学报

Magnolol, a hydroquinone containing an allyl side chain, is one of the major active components of magnolia for antioxidation and anti-aging. To enhance the anti-aging activity and improve the intramolecular hydrogen bonding of magnolol, magnolol was reacted with cinnamic acid to obtain 2-O-cinnamic acid magnolol by esterification. The anti-aging activity of magnolol 2-O-cinnamate was investigated based on Caenorhabditis elegans model. The results showed that 2-O-cinnamic acid magnolol can reduce lipofuscin accumulation in the nematode body, and the effect is better than that of magnolol. 2-O-Cinnamic acid magnolol can extend nematode lifespan, reduce ROS levels in nematodes during normal aging and oxidative stress and improve nematode stress resistance under heat stress and oxidative stress. 2-O-Cinnamic acid magnolol could induce DAF-16 translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and upregulate the expression of the sod-3 gene encoding superoxide dismutase in the nematode TJ356 expressing DAF-16 fused with GFP. 2-O-Cinnamic acid magnolol did not improve the survival rate of hsp-16.2 gene deficient nematodes under oxidative stress, indicating that 2-O-cinnamic acid magnolol improves stress resistance of nematodes under oxidative stress may be associated with sod-3 and hsp-16.2. Moreover, 2-O-cinnamic acid magnolol did not extend the lifespan of daf-16 and age-1 mutants, indicating that age-1 and daf-16 are required for 2-O-cinnamic acid magnolol to delay aging. It showed that magnolol 2-O-cinnamic acid has the potential to improve antioxidant capacity and delay aging, and the mechanism may be related to the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway.

Research progress on terpenes and pharmacological effects of Saussurea lappa / 中国中药杂志

Saussurea lappa originates in India, and now mainly grow in Yunnan, Sichuan and other places in China. It is one of the commonly used traditional herbal medicines in Tibet and other minority regions, with effects in regulating qi to relieve pain and invigo-rating spleen to promote food. It has been used in clinic for gastrointestinal diseases, such as Qi stagnation syndrome of spleen and stomach, diarrhea and tenesmus. More than 200 compounds have been identified from S. lappa. Among them, sesquiterpenoids attracted much attention. In terms of the number of compounds, eudesmanetype is dominant, guaiane and germacranetypes have also been reported frequently. Pharmacological studies have involved extracts, volatile oils and monomeric components represented by dehydrocostus lactone. Anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects on digestive system have attracted great attention. However, due to the complex sources of S. lappa and widely used in clinical practice, there is few research progress on relevant chemical constituents and pharmacological activities. This paper systematically summarizes terpenes and the pharmacological effects of S. lappa, in order to provide basis for further studies and clinical applications.

Celastrol induce apoptosis of human multiple myeloma cells involving inhibition of proteasome activity.

Celastrol exhibits anticancer activity and has a number of potential molecular targets. Among them, the proteasome has attracted particular attention. Although celastrol inhibits multiple myeloma (MM) cell proliferation, the induction of proteasome-inhibitory activity by celastrol in MM cells at the cellular level and in tumors of mice bearing xenografts has not been confirmed. In the present study, we found that celastrol inhibited the caspase-like (ß1), trypsin-like (ß2) and chymotrypsin-like (ß5) proteasome activities of purified human 20S proteasomes, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 7.1, 6.3, and 9.3 µmol/L, respectively. Celastrol also inhibited human MM cellular ß1, ß2, and ß5 proteasome activities, with IC50 values of 2.3, 2.1, and 0.9 µmol/L, respectively. After MM cells were treated with celastrol, a population of apoptotic cells and a population of cells in G0/G1 were observed. Celastrol also inhibited proteasome activity and induced apoptosis in tumor tissue. Treatment of MM.1S and RPMI 8226 tumor-bearing severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice with celastrol reduced the tumor volume. In conclusion, our results reveal the effects of celastrol on proteasome activity in MM cells and shed light on the underlying mechanisms of its anticancer activity, providing a basis for developing celastrol as a potential therapeutic agent for MM.