Erythrina velutina Willd.: A review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Erythrina velutina Willd., commonly known as "mulungu" in Brazil, is a leguminous tree with various traditional medicinal uses. These uses include treating insomnia, central nervous system disorders, convulsions, nervous cough, and inflammation.

Synthesis, in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity of 6,7-diaryl-2,3,8,8a-tetrahydroindolizin-5(1H)-ones.

A 6,7-diaryl-2,3,8,8a-tetrahydroindolizin-5(1H)-one library was constructed and tested against the colon cancer cell line HCT-116 as an initial screen for cytotoxic properties. Of this library, the parent compound, in which the southern aromatic ring remains unsubstituted, and the northern aromatic ring carries a 4-methoxy group, exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity with an IC50 value of 0.39 microM and displayed promising activity in vivo in the NCI's mouse hollow fiber assay.

A systematic SAR study of C10 modified paclitaxel analogues using a combinatorial approach.

A library with 63 paclitaxel analogues modified at the C10 position of paclitaxel has been prepared using parallel solution phase synthesis. Most of the C10 analogues were slightly less active than paclitaxel in the tubulin assembly assay and had reduced potency in the B16 melanoma and MCF-7 cell line cytotoxicity assays. These modifications at C10, however, did not lead to the total loss of activity, indicating that the C10 moiety of paclitaxel may not be directly involved in the drug-microtubule interactions, but could influence its binding affinity to P-glycoprotein.