Study of the chemical constituents of Pruni Cortex and its related parts.

The water extract of Pruni Cortex, which is obtained from the bark of Prunus jamasakura, is a major component in Brocin. We investigated the constituents of the water and methanolic extracts of Pruni Cortex. From the water extractive, two flavonoids (sakuranin and neosakuranin; major constituents of this extractive), four known lignans, and six aromatic compounds including one new compound were obtained.

Polyacetylene diols with antiproliferative and driving Th1 polarization effects from the marine sponge Callyspongia sp.

A screening of 30 crude extracts of marine sponges against human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) yielded an EtOAc extract of the sponge Callyspongia sp. (Callyspongiidae) with significant activity. Further bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOAc extract led to the isolation of three polyacetylene metabolites: a new polyacetylene diol, callyspongidiol (1), along with two known compounds, siphonodiol (2) and 14,15-dihydrosiphonodiol (3).

Cucurbitane glycosides from unripe fruits of Lo Han Kuo (Siraitia grosvenori).

From the unripe fruits of Lo Han Kuo (Siraitia grosvenori), a Chinese medicinal plant, two new cucurbitane triterpene glycosides, 20-hydroxy-11-oxomogroside IA(1) (1) and 11-oxomogroside IIE (2), were isolated along with five known cucurbitane glycosides, 11-oxomogroside IA(1) (3), mogroside IIE (4), mogroside III (5), mogroside IVA (6), and mogroside V (7), and two flavonoid glycosides, kaempferol 7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (8) and kaempferol 3,7-di-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (9). Their structures were determined on the basis of detailed analyses of 1D, 2D-NMR spectroscopic methods and by comparing with literature values. This paper describes the first investigation of unripe bitter Lo Han Kuo fruits.