Sesquiterpene lactone dimers from the fruit of Carpesium abrotanoides L.

Seven undescribed sesquiterpene lactone dimers (SLDs) (carpeabrodilactones A-G), one known SLD, and six known sesquiterpenes were isolated from the fruit of Carpesium abrotanoides L. Carpeabrodilactone A was a dimeric carabrane featuring a rare C-13-C-13' linkage. Carpeabrodilactones B and C are the first two SLDs to be described possessing a carabranolide unit and a guaianolide unit connected by an O-ether linkage.

[Non-taxoid chemical constituents from needles of Taxus cuspidata].

Objective: To study the chemical constituents in the needles of Taxus cuspidata collected from Japan.

Methods: Chemical constituents were isolated by column chromatography, TLC and preparative HPLC. The structures were identified on the basis of NMR spectral analysis.

Xylomexicanins C and D, new mexicanolide-type limonoids from Xylocarpus granatum.

Two new limonoids, named xylomexicanins C and D, were isolated from a dichloromethane extract of the seeds of Xylocarpus granatum cultivated in Hainan, China, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR (including 1H, 13C-NMR, DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) and confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Xylomexicanin C exhibited antiproliferative activity against human breast carcinoma cells (KT).

PPARγ agonist from Chromolaena odorata.

A phytochemical investigation of Chromolaena odorata resulted in the isolation of five new compounds, 5aα,6,9,9aβ,10-pentahydro-10β-hydroxy-7-methylanthra[1,2-d][1,3]dioxol-5-one (1), 1,2-methylenedioxy-6-methylanthraquinone (2), 3-hydroxy-1,2,4-trimethoxy-6-methylanthraquinone (3), 3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethoxy-6-methylanthraquinone (4), and 7-methoxy-7-epi-medioresinol (5), together with 12 known compounds, odoratin (6), 3β-acetyloleanolic acid (7), ursolic acid (8), ombuin (9), 4,2'-dihydroxy-4',5',6'-trimethoxychalcone (10), (-)-pinoresinol (11), austrocortinin (12), tianshic acid (13), cleomiscosin D (14), (-)-medioresinol (15), (-)-syringaresinol (16), and cleomiscosin A (17). All the compounds were evaluated for their PPARγ transactivation activity, and compound 6 showed moderate activity with an EC(50) value of 3.10 μM.

Antitumour activities of sesquiterpene lactones from Inula helenium and Inula japonica.

Eight sesquiterpene lactones were isolated from the roots of Inula helenium and flowers of I. japonica. Among them, isoalantolactone (3) and santamarine (6) exhibited significant growth inhibitory activities against gynecologic cancer cell lines, while others weakly inhibited the growth of the cell lines (IC50 < or = 100 microM).

Novel taxa-4(20),12-diene and 2(3→20)abeotaxane from needles of Taxus canadensis.

A novel 6/8/6-membered taxane with a rare C-12(13)-double bond and rare 2(3→20)abeotaxane were isolated from the needles of Taxus canadensis. Their structures were characterized as 7β,9α,10β-triacetoxytaxa-4(20),12-diene-2α,5α,11β-triol (1) and 2α,7β,10β-triacetoxy-5α-hydroxy-2(3→20)abeotaxa-4(20),11-diene-9,13-dione (2) on the basis of 1D and 2D spectroscopic data. 1 is the first example of a natural taxane without substitution at both C-13 and C-14.

Achillinin A, a cytotoxic guaianolide from the flower of Yarrow, Achillea millefolium.

Achillinin A (2β,3β-epoxy-1α,4β,10α-trihydroxyguai-11(13)-en-12,6α-olide, 1), a new guaianolide isolated from the flower of Achillea millefolium, exhibited potential antiproliferative activity to A549, RERF-LC-kj and QG-90 cells with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values of 5.8, 10 and 0.31 µM, respectively.

[The recent research progress of chemistry of marine natural products].

Ocean is a unique and excellent resource that provides a diverse array of intriguing natural products. Marine natural products have demonstrated significant and extremely potent biological activities and have captured the attention of natural products chemists in the past few decades. It is increasingly recognized that a wealth of fascinating natural products and novel chemical entities will play a dominant role in the discovery of useful leads for the development of pharmaceutical agents and provide useful probes to lead to breakthroughs in a variety of life-science fields.

A novel taxane 13-glucoside and other taxanes from the leaves of Taxus cuspidata.

Three new taxanes, 2 α,9 α,10 β-triacetoxy-13 α-( β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)taxa-4(20),11-dien-5 α-ol, 5 α,10 β,13 α-triacetoxytax-11-ene-2 α,7 β,9 α,20-tetraol, and 5 α,10 β,13 β-triacetoxy-2 α,7 β-dihydroxy-2(3→20) abeotaxa-4(20),11-dien-9-one, were isolated from the leaves of the Japanese yew, Taxus cuspidata. Compound 1 is the first example of a taxane with 13-glycosidic linkage.

Two new 11(15-->1)abeotaxanes with a 2,20-epoxy ring from the needles of Taxus canadensis.

Two 11(15-->1)abeotaxanes having a tetrahydrofuran ring along the carbon atoms C-2, C-3, C-4, C-20 were identified for the first time from the needles of the Canadian yew, Taxus canadensis. The compounds could be identified as 4alpha,10beta,13alpha-triacetoxy-15-benzoyloxy-2alpha,20beta-epoxy-11(15-->1)abeotax-11-ene-5alpha,7beta,9alpha-triol (1) and 4alpha,7beta,9alpha,10beta,15-pentaacetoxy-2alpha,20beta-epoxy-11(15-->1)abeotax-11-ene-5alpha,13alpha-diol (2) on the basis of 1D-, 2D-NMR evidence and high-resolution FABMS analysis. Compound 1 showed weak growth inhibitory activities against T-98 and MM1-CB cells in vitro.

Xylomexicanins A and B, new Delta14,15-mexicanolides from seeds of the Chinese mangrove Xylocarpus granatum.

Two new mexicanolide-type limonoids, named xylomexicanin A (1) and xylomexicanin B (2), were isolated from seeds of the Chinese mangrove Xylocarpus granatum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 exhibited antiproliferative activity against human breast carcinoma cells (KT), while 2 did not show inhibitory effects on eleven human tumour cell lines tested.

Taxusecone, a novel taxane with an unprecedented 11,12-secotaxane skeleton, from Taxus cuspidata needles.

Taxusecone, 2alpha,7beta,9alpha,10beta-tetraacetoxy-5alpha,12-dihydroxy-11,12-secotax-4(20)-ene-11,13-dione (1), a novel taxane with an unprecedented skeleton, was isolated from the needles of Taxus cuspidata.

Chemical and pharmacological studies of the plants from genus Celastrus.

The plants of genus Celastrus, distributed in Asia, have been used as natural insecticides and folk medicines to treat fever, chill, joint pain, edema, rheumatoid arthritis, and bacterial infection in China for a long time. This contribution reviews the chemical constituents, isolated from the plants in genus Celastrus in the past few decades, and their biological activities. The compounds listed are sesquiterpenes (beta-agarofurans), diterpenes, triterpenes, alkaloids, and flavonoids.

Echinopines A and B: sesquiterpenoids possessing an unprecedented skeleton from Echinops spinosus.

Echinopines A (1) and B (2), novel sesquiterpenoids with an unprecedented rearranged skeleton named echinopane, were isolated from the roots of Echinops spinosus. The structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. The relative configuration of 1 was assigned by a combination of NOESY correlations and a simulation analysis.