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Quantitative analysis of Rumex nepalensis var. remotiflorus revealed that its roots contain rich anthraquinones, which has emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion contents of up to 0.30, 0.67, and 0.98 mg/g, respectively. Further phytochemical study led to the isolation and purification of seven undescribed phenolic constituents, including one flavan derivative with a 13-membered ring, polygorumin A (1), two dianthrone glucosides, polygonumnolides F and G (2, 3), two diphenylmethanones, rumepalens A and B (4, 5), and a pair of epimeric oxanthrone C-glucosides, rumejaposides K and L (6a, 6b) from the roots of R. nepalensis var. remotiflorus. Furthermore, 1 undescribed natural product, 1-β-D-glucoside-6'-[(2E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propenoate]-3-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl (19), and 21 known phenolic compounds were obtained from the aforementioned plant for the first time. Their structures were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic data analysis. Notably, compounds 1, 4-5, and 7-9 exhibited inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase with IC 50 values ranging from 1.61 ± 0.17 to 32.41 ± 0.87 μM. In addition, the isolated dianthrone, chrysophanol bianthrone (14), showed obvious cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines (HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, and MDA-MB-231) with IC 50 values ranging from 3.81 ± 0.17 to 35.15 ± 2.24 μM. In silico target prediction and molecular docking studies demonstrated that the mechanism of the anticancer activity of 14 may be related to the interaction with protein kinase CK2., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ying-Jun Zhang reports financial support was provided by Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Four new phenolic compounds, including two naphthalenes, musizin-8-O-β-D-(6'-O-malonyl-3''-methoxy)glucopyranoside (1) and 2-acetyl-3-methyl-1,4-naphtho-quinone-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), one chromone, (2'R)-7-hydroxy-2-(2'-hydroxypropyl)-5-methyl acetate chromone (3), and one xanthone, 2,8-dimethyl-3,6-dihydroxyxanthone (4) were isolated from the roots of Rumex dentatus L. (Polygonaceae). In addition, five known including four naphthalenes (5-8) and one chromone (9) were also obtained. Their structures were determined by means of extensive spectroscopic analysis and acidic hydrolysis. Compound 1 showed moderate antifungal activity against Epidermophyton floccosum, with inhibitory rate of 39.539 ± 0.412% at a concentration of 100 μM., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors of the present manuscript have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Six diterpenoids including three ent-kauranes (1-2, 4) and three cleistanthanes (3, 5-6) were isolated from the roots and stems of Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels. Of them, (16S)-ent-16,17,18-tri-hydroxy-19-nor-kaur-4-en-3-one (1), phyllanthone A (2), and 6-hydroxycleistanthol (3) are new compounds, while the ent-kaurane diterpenoids were reported from the titled plant for the first time. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of the extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 2 and 4-6 displayed cytotoxic potential with IC 50 values ranging from 1.96 to 29.15 μM. They also showed moderate anti-inflammatory activities (IC 50  = 6.30-12.05 μM). Particularly, the new ent-kaurane 2 displayed cytotoxic potential against HL-60 (IC 50  = 2.00 μM) and MCF-7 (IC 50  = 3.55 μM) cells, and anti-inflammatory activity (IC 50  = 6.47 μM)., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The young leaves of Phyllanthus acidus (Euphorbiaceae) are commonly used as edible vegetables in Indonesia, Thailand, and India, and their water infusions as dieting aids for people trying to remain slim. However, it is regarded as a poisonous plant in Malaya, and current researches are insufficient to provide a conclusion on its toxicity and safety under large doses. In this study, we firstly found that the refined nonpolar extracts of P. acidus leaves showed significant cytotoxic effect against BEAS-2B and L02 normal cell lines with IC 50 values of 2.15 and 1.64 mg/mL, respectively. Further bioactivity-guided isolation produced four new rare dichapetalins (pacidusins A-D) from the most active fraction. Their structures including absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic data and X-ray diffraction analysis. All the isolated dichapetalins exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against, BEAS-2B and L02 normal cell lines with IC 50 values ranging from 12.44 to 22.55 μM, as well as five human cancer cell lines with IC 50 values ranging from 3.38 to 22.38 μM. Furthermore, the content of the main dichapetalins in the leaves were determined by analytical HPLC, which showed that the leaves contained a very high amount of the four isolated dichapetalins with a total yield of 0.488 mg/g of dry plant material. These toxic dichapetalins may lead to adverse health effects in higher doses. Our findings indicate that the dichapetalin containing leaves may not be suitable for consumption in large quantities as food, but demonstrate their potency as anti-cancer agents for new drug discovery., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Three previously undescribed pyridyl-steroidal glycoalkaloids, solanindiosides A‒C, one rare 23S,26R-hydroxylated spirostanoid saponin, and two steroidal alkaloid aglycones, solanindins A and B, derived from the acid hydrolysis of solanindiosides A‒C, were isolated from the fruits of Solanum violaceum, together with five known analogues, including two rare steroidal glycosides, two lignans and a diterpene. Structurally, they comprise a 16β-methoxy-23-deoxy-22,26-epimino-cholest-type skeleton moiety, and a 16β-methoxy-3,23-dideoxy-22,26-epimino-cholest-3,5-dien derivative. The hitherto undescribed structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. Configurations of sugar moieties were resolved by chemical derivations. Solanindiosides A‒C, (22R,23S,25R,26R)-spirost-5-ene-3β,23,26-triol3-O-β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-d-glucopyranoside, solanindins A and B, and (1S,2S)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-[2-methoxy-4-[(2S,3R,4R)-tetrahydro-4-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-3-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furanyl]phenoxy]-1,3-propanediol were evaluated for their cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. (1S,2S)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-[2-methoxy-4-[(2S,3R,4R)-tetrahydro-4-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-3-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furanyl]phenoxy]-1,3-propanediol showed the most potent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells (IC 50  = 4.386 ± 0.098 μM), while solanindin B displayed some inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus Rosenbach with MIC 50 value of 37.32 ± 0.793 μM. In addition, (1S,2S)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-[2-methoxy-4-[(2S,3R,4R)-tetrahydro-4-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-3-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furanyl]phenoxy]-1,3-propanediol induced dose dependent apoptosis effect in MCF-7 cells., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Phytochemical investigation on the nonpolar extracts of P. acidus leaves afforded three new cleistanthane diterpenoids, named phyllanacidins A-C (1-3), in addition to three known ones (4-6). Among them, compounds 2 and 3 represent the first examples of 17-nor cleistanthane diterpenoids. Their structures including absolute configurations were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. All the isolated cleistanthane diterpenoids were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against five human cancer cell lines. Compounds 4-6 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity with IC 50 values ranging from 16.11 to 30.82 μM., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ten previously undescribed glycosides, carissaedulosides A-J (1-10) referring to six apiosylated phenylpropanoids (1-6), one coumarin-secoiridoid hybrid (7), and three furofuran lignans (8-10) were isolated from the root barks of Carissa edulis, together with 13 known analogues (11-23). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, ECD computational methods, and chemical derivations for configurations of sugar moieties. The new lignan bisdesmoside, 10, exhibited significant cytotoxicity against A549 (IC 50  = 3.87 ± 0.03 μM) and MCF-7 (IC 50  = 9.231 ± 0.290 μM) cell lines, while the known lignan monodesmoside, 12, showed impressive cytotoxic efficacy (IC 50  = 5.68 ± 0.180 μM) against only MCF-7 cell line. It is noted that a known cardenolide, 11, displayed strong cytotoxic potency against HL-60, A549, MCF-7 and SW480 cell lines with IC 50 values ranging from 0.023 to 0.137 μM. Moreover, compound 11 induced dose-dependent apoptosis on SW480 cell, but not explicit dose-dependent apoptosis on HL-60 cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

An elaborated phytochemical study on the fresh fruits of Terminalia chebula var. tomentella (Combretaceae) led to the isolation of five new lignans, including three tetrahydrofuran (1-3) and two furofuran (4 and 5) derivatives, namely termitomenins A-E (1-5), along with 10 known ones. All of them were obtained from the titled plant for the first time. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D/2D NMR, MS, UV, IR, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculation of ECD spectra, and single crystal X-ray diffraction in case of 3. Compounds 1-15 exhibited certain anti-inflammatory activities. Interestingly, compounds 6 (IC 50  = 18.17 ± 0.57  μM) and 7 (IC 50 = 13.66 ± 0.38 μM) which contain an aldehyde group displayed stronger NO inhibitory activity than the positive control L-NMMA (IC 50  = 42.34 ± 0.66 μM)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Arsenic (As) can be easily enriched in atmospheric particulate matters (PMs), especially in fine particulate matters (PM 2.5 ). In this study, thirty two PM 2.5 samples were collected in four seasons in Baoding, China, where the haze pollution was very serious in recent years. The total contents, species and bioavailability of arsenic in PM 2.5 samples were investigated. Species of arsenic in the PM 2.5 samples were discriminated as five fractions using a sequential extraction method: non-specifically sorbed fraction (F1), specifically-sorbed fraction (F2), amorphous and poorly-crystalline hydrous oxides of Fe and Al fraction (F3), well-crystallized hydrous oxides of Fe and Al fraction (F4) and residual fraction (F5). Bioavailabilities of arsenic in the PM 2.5 samples were evaluated by in vitro tests using both solubility bioavailability research consortium (SBRC) and Gamble's solution extraction methods. The total volume concentrations of As in PM 2.5 were significantly higher in winter than the other seasons. However, the highest mass concentration of As was found in spring. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization indicated that the physical morphology of the particles varied in different seasons. Significant differences of fraction distribution and BFs were found between different seasons. Arsenic in PM 2.5 samples mainly presented in F1 with high bioavailability factor (BF), especially for the samples in summer. In vitro tests indicated that arsenic in PM 2.5 could be dissolved more easily in gastric phase rather than intestinal and lung phases. There was a significant correlation between species and in vitro tests. Interestingly, a synergy effect was found between F2 and F3. Health risk assessment indicated that arsenic in PM 2.5 via inhalation exposure for both children and adults could cause adverse effects. Principal component analysis suggested that the arsenic in PM 2.5 was from the similar sources between summer and autumn, winter and spring, respectively., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Four new cleistanthane diterpenoids, phyllaciduloids A-D (1-4), were isolated from the roots and stems of Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels (Phyllanthaceae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. Phyllaciduloids B-D (2-4) present in their structures with ether bond between C-7 and C-16, which were rarely reported. All the isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against five human cancer cell lines., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In an effort to identify anti-viral and cytotoxic compounds from Phyllanthus spp., 14 highly oxygenated norbisabolane sesquiterpenoids, phyllaemblicins H1-H14, were isolated from the roots of Phyllanthus emblica Linn, along with phyllaemblicins B and C and glochicoccinoside D. Their structures were determined on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods. Determination of absolute configurations of these compounds was facilitated by theoretical calculations of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) for the aglycone components, and pre-column derivative/chiral HPLC analysis for the monosaccharides. The known glochicoccinoside D displayed potent activity against influenza A virus strain H3N2 and hand, foot and mouth virus EV71, with IC50 values of 4.5±0.6 and 2.6±0.7 μg/ml, respectively. Phyllaemblicin H1 showed moderate cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines A-549 and SMMC-7721, with IC50 values of 4.7±0.7 and 9.9±1.3 μM, respectively., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Nine new minor dehydrogenated and cleavaged dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins, namely notoginsenosides ST6-ST14 (1-9) were isolated from the steamed roots of Panax notoginseng, together with 14 known ones. Among them, 5-7 and 21-22 were protopanaxadiol type and the left 18 compounds, including 1-4, 8-20, and 23 were protopanaxatriol type saponins. Their structures were identified by extensive analysis of MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra, and acidic hydrolysis. Resulted from the side chain cleavage, the new saponins 1 and 2 featured in a ketone group at C-25, and 3-5 had an aldehyde unit at C-23. The known saponins 12, 16 and 18 displayed the enhancing potential of neurite outgrowth of NGF-mediated PC12 cells at a concentration of 10 μM, while 20 exhibited acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory activity, with IC50 value of 13.97 μM., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A collection of 70 randomly selected three-year-old Panax notoginseng plants was analyzed to evaluate the germplasmic resources of cultivated notoginseng. The results obtained indicated that the individual plants of P. notoginseng were greatly diversified not only in saponin contents, but also in morphological features. It was further proven that, after hundreds years of cultivation, notoginseng has become a mixed farm cultivar with very large variations occurring. This high variance in saponin contents implies the possibility for breeding of this medicinal plant in order to obtain cultivars with higher saponin production. Statistic analysis of correlation between morphologic variation and chemical variation suggests that some morphological characters, such as root weight, plant height and peduncle length, can be correlated with saponin contents and can be used as important selective traits for selective breeding., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)