Lignans from Sambucus williamsii Protect Bone Via Microbiome.

Purpose Of Review: Traditional Chinese Medicine has a unique system to diagnose and treat bone diseases with symptoms similar to those of osteoporosis. Sambucus williamsii Hance (SWH), a folk medicine in northern part of China for fractures healing and pain alleviation, has been demonstrated to exert bone anabolic effects in ovariectomized (OVX) rat and mice models in our previous studies. Lignans were identified to be the main bioactive fractions of SWH.

Targeted Discovery of a Natural -Quinone Methide Precursor and Green Generation of Its Oligomers.

-Quinone methides (-QMs) are a class of highly reactive intermediates that serve as important nonisolable building blocks (NBBs) in organic synthesis and small-molecule library construction. Because of their instability and nonisolability, most reported -QMs are generated through chemical synthesis, and only a few natural -QMs have been reported due to the lack of directed discovery strategies. Herein, a new natural -QM precursor (trichophenol A, ) was identified from the fungal strain of sp.

Four new phenylpropanoid glycosides from the leaves of and their neuroprotective activities.

Four previously unreported phenylpropanoid glycosides (-), together with four known analogues (-), were isolated from the leaves of . The structures of these new compounds were elucidated based on spectroscopic analysis (HR-ESI-MS, NMR, IR, UV) and chemical methods. In addition, the neuroprotective activities of all the isolates were evaluated by measuring their cell viability in HO-induced OLN-93 cell injury model.

Neuroprotective effect of GJ-4 against cognitive impairments in vascular dementia by improving white matter damage.

Background: White matter lesions (WMLs) are increasingly linked to the pathological process of chronic vascular dementia (VaD). An effective crocins fraction extracted from Gardenia Fructus, GJ-4, has been shown to improve cognitive function in several Alzheimer's disease models and VaD models.

Objectives: To explore the potential mechanisms of GJ-4 on WMLs in a chronic VaD mouse model.

Exploring the mechanism of Si-Miao-Yong-An decoction on heart failure based on molecular docking and network pharmacology.

The SwissTargetPrediction was employed to predict the potential drug targets of the active component of Si-Miao-Yong-An decoction (SMYAD). The therapeutic targets for HF were searched in the Genecard database, and Cytoscape3.9.

A Functional Switch Between Asperfumene and Fusicoccadiene Synthase and Entrance to Asperfumene Biosynthesis through a Vicinal Deprotonation-Reprotonation Process.

The diterpene synthase AfAS was identified from Aspergillus fumigatiaffinis. Its amino acid sequence and-according to a structural model-active site architecture are highly similar to those of the fusicocca-2,10(14)-diene synthase PaFS, but AfAS produces a structurally much more complex diterpene with a novel 6-5-5-5 tetracyclic skeleton called asperfumene. The cyclisation mechanism of AfAS was elucidated through isotopic labelling experiments and DFT calculations.

Biosynthesis of Enfumafungin-type Antibiotic Reveals an Unusual Enzymatic Fusion Pattern and Unprecedented C-C Bond Cleavage.

Enfumafungin-type antibiotics, represented by enfumafungin and fuscoatroside, belong to a distinct group of triterpenoids derived from fungi. These compounds exhibit significant antifungal properties with ibrexafungerp, a semisynthetic derivative of enfumafungin, recently gaining FDA's approval as the first oral antifungal drug for treating invasive vulvar candidiasis. Enfumafungin-type antibiotics possess a cleaved E-ring with an oxidized carboxyl group and a reduced methyl group at the break site, suggesting unprecedented C-C bond cleavage chemistry involved in their biosynthesis.

Discovery of a Potent Antiosteoporotic Drug Molecular Scaffold Derived from and Its Bioinspired Total Synthesis.

, commonly known as Dong Quai in Europe and America and as Dang-gui in China, is a medicinal plant widely utilized for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. In this study, we report the discovery of a new category of phthalide from , namely falcarinphthalides A and B ( and ), which contains two fragments, (3,8)-falcarindiol () and ()-ligustilide (). Falcarinphthalides A and B ( and ) represent two unprecedented carbon skeletons of phthalide in natural products, and their antiosteoporotic activities were evaluated.

Two new -oxide indole alkaloids with -hematin inhibitory activity from the stems and leaves of .

, a shrub of Apocynaceae, was collected from the Islands of SAO Tome and Principe and cultivated locally for medicinal purpose. Phytochemical investigation of 95% ethanol extract from the stems and leaves of led to the isolation of two new -oxide indole alkaloids, namely -oxide-mitoridine () and -oxide-raucaffricine (), together with two known alkaloids () and eleven known lignans (). Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive NMR and HR-ESI-MS data analysis.

Eremophilane and cadinane sesquiterpenoids from the fruits of and their anti-inflammatory activities.

The fruits of have been used for centuries in China as both edible resources and traditional Chinese medicine. In order to identify structurally interesting and bioactive constituents from the fruits of , bioassay-guided fractionation and purification of the crude extracts were performed, which led to the isolation of 38 sesquiterpenoids, including six previously undescribed eremophilane sesquiterpenoids (1-6), six new cadinane sesquiterpenoids (23-24, 26-29), and 26 known analogues (7-22, 25 and 31-38). The structures of these compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis, single crystal X-ray diffraction, quantum chemistry calculations (C-NMR and ECD), and Mo(OAc) reaction.

C steroidal glycosides from the root bark of and their NO production inhibitory and cytotoxic activity.

A series of C steroidal glycosides were isolated from the root bark of , including a new compound, perisepiumoside A1 (), and six known compounds (). Their structures were elucidated by analysis of HR-ESI-MS, and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. All these compounds were tested for their NO production inhibitory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.

One undescribed glycoside benzofuran derivative and a new -hydroxybenzoate glycoside from the leaves of Tutcher.

One undescribed benzofuran derivative (illiciumphenolicacid A, ) and one new phenolic glycoside (illiciumphenolicacid B, ), together with six known compounds () were isolated from the leaves of Tutcher. Their structures were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic data (UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR). In addition, we determined the -glucosidase inhibitory activity of the isolates using spectrophotometric methods.

Nur77 Serves as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker That Correlates with Immune Infiltration and May Act as a Good Target for Prostate adenocarcinoma.

Prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD) is the most frequent malignancy, and is the second leading cause of death due to cancer in men. Thus, new prognostic biomarkers and drug targets for PRAD are urgently needed. As we know, nuclear receptor Nur77 is important in cancer development and changes in the tumor microenvironment; whereas, the function of Nur77 in PRAD remains to be elucidated.

Biosynthetic characterization of the antifungal fernane-type triterpenoid polytolypin for generation of new analogues combinatorial biosynthesis.

Fernane-type triterpenoids are a small group of natural products mainly found in plants and fungi with a wide range of biological activities. Polytolypin is a representative fernane-type triterpenoid from fungi and possesses potent antifungal activity. So far, biosynthesis of fungal-derived fernane-type triterpenoids has not been characterized, which hinders the expansion of their structural diversity using biosynthetic approaches.

Astramalabaricosides A-T, Highly Oxygenated Malabaricane Triterpenoids with Migratory Inhibitory Activity from var. .

Twenty new malabaricane triterpenoids, astramalabaricosides A-T (-), were isolated from the roots of var. (Astragali Radix). Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis, and the use of the circular dichroism exciton chirality method, quantum chemical calculations, and chemical methods.

Network pharmacology provides a systematic approach to understanding the treatment of ischemic heart diseases with traditional Chinese medicine.

Background: The field of network pharmacology showed significant development. The concept of network pharmacology has many similarities to the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), making it suitable to understand the action mechanisms of TCM in treating complex diseases, such as ischemic heart diseases (IHDs).

Purpose: This review summarizes the representative applications of network pharmacology in deciphering the mechanism underlying the treatment of IHDs with TCM.

Illiciumlignans G-O from the leaves of and their anti-inflammatory activities.

Phytochemical investigations on the dry leaves of have led to the isolation of 24 lignans. Illiciumlignans G-K (1-5) were five undescribed benzofuran lignans, illiciumlignan L (6) was one undescribed ditetrahydrofuran lignan, illiciumlignans M-O (7-9) were three new sesquilignans, and compounds 10, 12, 13, 15, and 18-21 were firstly isolated from the genus . Their structures were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analyses (UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, and NMR) and CD experiments.

Diarylheptanoid analogues from the rhizomes of and their anti-tumour activity.

Eight previously undescribed diarylheptanoids (1-8), together with fifteen known analogues (9-23), were isolated from the rhizomes of . Their structures were unambiguously determined by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. It is worth mentioning that 1-3 are the first reported structures of diaryl ether heptanoids in , whereas 15-17 were isolated from for the first time.