Isoquinoline alkaloids with bioactive constituents from the roots and rhizomes of .

Isoquinoline alkaloids are important effective chemical components separated from the , which were mostly reported as planar structures. By using chiral HPLC, we have concluded that some natural isoquinoline alkaloids exist as enantiomeric mixtures, providing a novel direction for future research on isoquinoline alkaloids. Finally, three pairs of enantiomeric isoquinoline alkaloids (, including five undescribed compounds-, and ), together with another eight known isoquinoline alkaloids () were isolated from the roots and rhizomes of .

Isoquinoline alkaloids from Hylomecon japonica and their potential anti-breast cancer activities.

Four pairs of undescribed enantiomeric isoquinoline alkaloids (6S/R-(N,N-diethylacetamido)yl-dihydrochelerythrine, 6R/S-acetonyl-9-hydroxy-dihydrochelerythrine, 6S/R-acroleinyl-dihydrochelerythrine, 6S/R-acetatemethyl-dihydrochelerythrine), five undescribed isoquinoline alkaloids (6,10-dimethoxydihydrochelerythrine, 6-ethoxy-ethaniminyl-dihydrochelandine, 9-hydroxy-dihydrochelerythrine, 9-methoxy-10-hydroxy-norchelerythrine, chelidoniumine A), together with 13 known isoquinoline alkaloids were isolated from an extract of the roots and rhizomes of Hylomecon japonica. The structures of the undescribed compounds were identified by NMR, HRESIMS, UV, IR, and their absolute configurations were defined via electronic circular dichroism data and optical rotation. All of the isolated compounds were tested for their anti-breast cancer activities in MCF-7 cells.

Diosgenin revealed potential effect against cerebral ischemia reperfusion through HIKESHI/HSP70/NF-κB anti-inflammatory axis.

Background: It is a research hotspot to use natural compounds in treatment of cerebral ischemia reperfusion (I/R) for a refractory disease throughout the worldwide without available drugs or treatments at present. Our previous study has demonstrated that diosgenin (DIO), a starting material to synthesize various steroid anti-inflammatory drugs in medical industry, showed medicinal effect against I/R via inhibiting aberrant inflammatory reaction induced by I/R. However, the detailed anti-inflammatory network of DIO in treatment of I/R still remains to be further explored.