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Chios mastic gum, the resin obtained as an exudate from the trunk and branches of Pistacia lentiscus L var. chia, is used extensively as a constituent of herbal drugs or functional foods. The oral absorption of its major constituents still remains unclear. In the context of identifying the features of mastic gum that are responsible for either therapeutic effects or effects of nutritional value, a methodology based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed and applied for the quantification of mastic gum triterpenic acids, 24Z-isomasticadienonic acid (IMNA), and 24Z-isomasticadienolic acid (IMLA) in mouse plasma. The specific compounds were selected based on their biological activity and potential against Helicobacter pylori. Concentrations were determined simultaneously in mouse plasma after oral administration of mastic gum or total mastic extract without polymer (TMEWP) in order to evaluate the role of the natural polymer, poly-β-myrcene, in the absorption process. Following TMEWP administration in mice, circulating IMNA and IMLA plasma levels were significantly higher (approximately 10-fold) in comparison to IMNA and IMLA plasma levels following total mastic gum administration (CMG), suggesting that the polymer plays a critical role in the absorption process. More specifically following TMEWP administration, Cmax plasma values were 3300 ± 859 ng/mL for IMNA and 163 ± 58 ng/mL for IMLA. In comparison, following CMG administration, Cmax plasma values were 329 ± 57 ng/mL for IMNA and 28 ± 8 ng/mL for IMLA. The methodological approaches presented in this study, along with the findings, offer valuable information on the availability of bioactive components following ingestion of mastic and facilitate the uses of mastic either as an ingredient of functional foods or as a herbal drug., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

The gum resin of Commiphora wightii [(Hook. ex Stocks) Engl.] is an ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of arthritis, inflammation, obesity, lipid disorders, and cardiovascular diseases and is known as guggul. Morphologically, it is not easy to distinguish guggul from closely related gum resins of other plants. Reliability of the commercially available guggul is critical due to the high risk of adulteration. To check authenticity, a commercial guggul sample was investigated for its chemical markers and 17 metabolites were identified, including three new, 20(S),21-epoxy-3-oxocholest-4-ene (1), 8 β-hydroxy-3,20-dioxopregn-4,6-diene (2), and 5-(13' Z-nonadecenyl)resorcinol (17) from the ethyl acetate soluble part. During the current study, compounds 14- 17 were identified as constituents of Mangifera indica gum, as an adulterant in the commercial guggul sample. This discovery highlighted the common malpractices in the trade of medicinal raw material in the developing world. The structures of the compounds were deduced by the spectroscopic technique and chemical methods, as well as by comparison with the reported data. The structure of 20(S),21-epoxy-3-oxocholest-4-ene (1) was also unambiguously deduced by single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

In the course of our search for anticancer agents based on a novel anti-austerity strategy, we found that the 70 % EtOH extract of "Pini Resina" showed 100 % preferential cytotoxicity at the concentration of 50 microg/mL. Further bioassay-guided fractionation and purification led to the isolation of 15 compounds including one new compound 7-oxo-13 alpha-hydroxyabiet-8(14)-en-18-oic acid (1). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Among the isolated compounds, methyl abieta-8,11,13-trien-18-oate (7) showed the most potent preferential cytotoxicity at 10 microg/mL under nutrient-deprived condition.

The anti-inflammatory activities of extracts from the resins of four species of the plant family Burseraceae, Boswellia dalzielli, Boswellia carteri (gum olibanum), Commiphora mukul, and Commiphora incisa, were studied. The aqueous extracts of the resins of B. dalzielli, C. incisa, and C. mukul significantly inhibited both the maximal edema response and the total edema response during 6 h of carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The octanordammarane triterpenes, mansumbinone and mansumbinoic acid, isolated from the resin of C. incisa, were separated and tested. Administered prophylactically, mansumbinone proved to be more than 20 times less potent than indomethacin and prednisolone in inhibiting carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. However, the molar potency of mansumbinoic acid was within one order of magnitude of those of indomethacin and prednisolone. The anti-inflammatory action of the acid on the carrageenan-induced edema was dose-related between 1.3 x 10(-5) and 2.5 x 10(-4) mol kg-1 when given before the inflammatory stimulus. The acid was able to reverse an established carrageenan-induced inflammatory response when administered 2 h after induction. Daily administration of mansumbinoic acid at a single dose level (1.5 x 10(-4) mol kg-1) significantly reduced joint swelling in adjuvant arthritis in rats. The results indicated that this compound is worthy of further investigation as an anti-inflammatory drug.