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Graphical abstract Highlights • A series of novel 25-OCH 3 -PPD derivatives were synthesized. • Cytotoxic activities of the derivatives were evaluated on five human tumor cell lines. • Compounds 3a , 14a and 18a exhibited strong anti-tumor activities. • Having aromatic ester at the C3 position could enhance the antiproliferative activities. Abstract Previously we have reported that 25-OCH 3 -PPD could suppress the reproduction of cancer cells and cause apoptosis without obvious toxicity. Herein, we aimed to enhance its bioactivity by introducing aromatic groups to its dammarane-type skeleton. These synthesized derivatives were tested for their inhibitory activities against five cancer cell lines. Of them, compounds 3a , 14a and 18a had the strongest antiproliferative activities against tumor cells (IC 50 < 15 µM, 5-fold to 10-fold increases than 25-OCH 3 -PPD). Especially compound 14a displayed the most potent activity against DU145, MCF-7 and HepG2 cells (IC 50 = 6.7 ± 0.8, 4.3 ± 0.8 and 5.8 ± 0.6 µM, respectively). Structure-activity relationships demonstrated that having aromatic ester at the C3 position could improve the bioactivity. The data provided new insights into exploring novel antiproliferative lead compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new compounds callistephus A ( 1 ) and callistephus B ( 2 ) together with 4,6-dihydroxyphenyl-1-butanone-2- β - d -O-glucopyranoside ( 3 ), were isolated and purified from the Callistephus chinensis flower. Their structures were identified by the interpretation of spectroscopic data. X-ray crystallographic and analysis of quantum chemical ECD calculation were applied to determine the absolute configuration. Of them, callistephus A represents a rare sesquiterpene with new carbon skeleton and also its possible biogenesis was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current work, 12 novel 25-hydroxyprotopanaxadiol (25-OH-PPD) derivatives were synthesized by reacting with chloroacetyl chloride. And their in vitro antitumor activities were evaluated on six human tumor cell lines by MTT assay. The results demonstrated that, as compared with 25-OH-PPD, compounds 4 , 6 and 7 exhibited higher cytotoxic activity on all tested cell lines. Of them, compound 4 showed strongly inhibition against MCF-7, HCT-116 and Lovo cells with IC 50 values of 1.7, 1.6 and 2.1 μM, respectively. The IC 50 values of compound 6 against HCT-116 and 7 against MCF-7 were the lowest (1.2 and 1.6 μM, respectively). It was also noted that compound 4 showed a 20- to 100-fold greater growth inhibition than ginsenoside-Rg 3 (an anti-cancer regular drug in China). In conclusion, the data revealed that compounds 4 , 6 and 7 were potential candidates for anti-tumor treatment and may be useful for the development of novel antiproliferative agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A dammarane derivative (4-XL-PPD) was obtained by structural modification. • 4-XL-PPD showed much better anticancer activity than original compound AD-2 on cancer cells. • 4-XL-PPD-induction of apoptosis of can be attenuated by the ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine in gastric carcinoma cells. • 4-XL-PPD inhibits migratory and invasive. (20 R)-Dammarane-3 β , 12 β , 20, 25-tetrol (25-OH-PPD) is a ginsenoside isolated from Panax ginseng (C. A. Meyer). Previous research shows that the compound exhibits anti-cancer activities on many human cancer cell lines. In an attempt to enhance 25-OH-PPD activity, some derivatives were synthesized. Through screening of the derivative compounds for anti-cancer activity against gastric carcinoma cells, 12 β - O -(L-Chloracetyl)-dammar-20(22)-ene-3 β , 25-diol (4-XL-PPD) was selected as a strong anti-cancer agent. In this study, the anti-cancer mechanisms of 4-XL-PPD were investigated. The results showed that compound 4-XL-PPD resulted in a concentration-dependent inhibition of cells viability in gastric cancer cells, without affecting the viability of normal cell (human gastric epithelial cell line-GES-1). In BGC-803 cancer cells, 4-XL-PPD triggered apoptosis, and stimulated reactive oxygen species production. Apoptosis can be attenuated by the reactive oxygen species scavenger N-acetylcysteine. Meantime, 4-XL-PPD effectively suppressed the migratory and invasive capabilities of BGC-803 cancer cell and inhibited the expression levels of proteins associated with migratory and invasive capabilities (MMP-2, MMP-9, E-cadherin and CD34). All the results suggest that 4-XL-PPD exhibited remarkable anticancer activity base on inducing apoptosis via generating reactive oxygen species and inhibiting migratory and invasive, which support development of 4-XL-PPD as a potential agent for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(20R)-Dammarane-3 β , 12 β , 20, 25-tetrol (25-OH-PPD) is a ginsenoside isolated from Panax ginseng (C. A. Meyer). This compound exhibits anti-cancer activities on many human cancer cell lines. In this study, we investigated anti-cancer mechanisms of 12 β - O -( L -Chloracetyl)-dammar-20(22)-ene-3 β ,25-diol(12-Chloracetyl-PPD), a modified 25-OH-PPD. We found that compound 12-Chloracetyl-PPD resulted in a concentration-dependent inhibition of viability in prostate, breast, and gastric cancer cells, without affecting the viability of normal cell (human gastric epithelial cell line-GES-1, hair follicle dermal papilla cell line-HHDPC and rat myocardial cell line-H9C2). In MDA-MB-435 and C4-2B cancer cells, 12-Chloracetyl-PPD induced G2/M cell cycle arrest, down-regulated mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) expression, up-regulated p53 expression, triggered apoptosis, and stimulated reactive oxygen species production. Apoptosis can be attenuated by the reactive oxygen species scavenger N-acetylcysteine. Our results suggested that compound 12-Chloracetyl-PPD showed obvious anti-cancer activity based on delaying cell cycle arrest and inducing cell apoptosis by reactive oxygen species production, which supported development of 12-Chloracetyl-PPD as a potential agent for cancer chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco is traditionally known to potentiate hair growth promotion. However, there has been no report on its main active ingredient responsible for the hair growth activity. In the current work, cedrol as a major constituent from P. orientalis was evaluated for its potential on hair growth in vivo . Different concentrations of cedrol (10, 20 and 30 mg/mL) were applied topically over the shaved skin of C57BL/6 mice and monitored for 21 days. Results indicated that cedrol significantly promoted hair growth in a dose-dependent manner, particularly for the female mice. Both male and female mice groups treated with 30 mg/mL cedrol required shorter time than the blank control and 2% minoxidil groups at different growth stages. Compared with the blank control (8.87 mm) and 2% minoxidil (9.94 mm) groups at 21 days, the hair length of female mice treated with 30 mg/mL cedrol showed a remarkable increase with the value of 11.07 mm. Hair in male and female mice groups treated with 30 mg/mL cedrol was heavier than the 2% minoxidil (38.2 and 35.9 mg, respectively) groups with the weight of 42.6 and 45.2 mg, respectively. Further observation of the hair follicle demonstrated that cedrol exerted a remarkable effect on the hair follicle length. These findings suggested that cedrol may be the main active ingredient of P. orientalis and have the potential of becoming a new hair growth promoter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]