Search

Two new spirostanol saponins, kingianoside I 1 and kingianoside K 2, corresponding to 3β,23S,25R23hydroxy12oxospirost5en3yl 4OβDglucopyranosylβDgalactopyranoside 1 and 3β,25R7oxospirost5en3yl αLarabinofuranosyl1→46deoxyαLmannopyranosyl1→2βDglucopyranoside 2, along with 13 known compounds, daucosterol, 25Rkingianoside G, 25RSkingianoside A, pratioside D1, 25RSpratioside D1, 25Skingianoside C, kingianoside C, ginsenoside Rb1, saponins Tb and Pb, dioscin, gracillin, and saponin Pa, were isolated from the processed rhizomes of Polygonatum kingianum.The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2DNMR techniques, and chemical methods. Compound 2contains a novel unusual spirostanol saponin aglycone. Ginsenoside Rb1and saponin Tb were isolated for the first time from the genus Polygonatum.The 13 known compounds were detected for the first time in the processed Polygonatum kingianum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new isobenzofuranone derivative, (R)-3-acetyl-[5,7]-dimethoxy-3H-isobenzofuran-l-one (1), together with six known compounds, (R)-3-acetyl-7-hydroxy-5-methoxy-3H-isobenzofuran-l-one (2), banksialactone D (3), (3R,4S)-3,8-dihydroxy-3-hydroxymethyl-6-methoxy-4,5-dimethyl-isochroman-1-one (4), 1-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl]-2,5-dimethyl-3-phenol (5), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (6), 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethanol (7), were isolated from Arctic fungus Gyoerffyella sp. CPCC 401434. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by the analysis of spectroscopic data, electronic circular dichroism, and comparison with reported literature data. Herein, all compounds were reported for the first time from the genus Gyoerffyella and their cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple, accurate and reliable high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method was developed and then successfully applied for simultaneous quantitative analysis of eight compounds, including chlorogenic acid (1), (R/S)-flavanomarein (2), butin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), isookanin (4), taxifolin (5), 5,7,3',5'- tetrahydroxyflavanone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), marein (7) and okanin (8), in 23 batches of snow chrysanthemum of different seed provenance and from various habitats. The results showed total contents of the eight compounds in the samples with seed provenance from Keliyang (Xinjiang, China), are higher than in samples from the other five provenances by 52.47%, 15.53%, 19.78%, 21.17% and 5.06%, respectively, which demonstrated that provenance has a great influence on the constituents in snow chrysanthemum. Meanwhile, an ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) was also employed to rapidly separate and identify flavonoids and phenolic acids in snowchrysanthemum from Keliyang. As a result, a total of 30 constituents, including 26 flavonoids and four phenolic acids, were identified or tentatively identified based on the exact mass information, the fragmentation characteristics, and retention times of eight reference standards. This work may provide an efficient approach to comprehensively evaluate the quality of snow chrysanthemum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Total steroidal saponins extracted from the rhizome of Paris polyphylla Sm. var. yunnanensis (TSSPs) have been widely used in China for the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding. We previously studied the main active constituents of TSSPs and their structure-activity relationships with respect to rat myometrial contractions. Tg (pennogenin tetraglycoside) was identified as one of the active ingredients in TSSPs able to induce rat myometrial contractions. However, the mechanisms underlying the pharmacological actions on uterine activity have not been described clearly. Methods: Here Tg was screened for effects on contractile activity in isolated uterine strips from estrogen-primed rats and on MLC20 phosphorylation and related signaling pathways in cultured rat myometrial cells as determined by Western blot. Intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) was monitored under a confocal microscope using Fluo-4 AM-loaded myometrial cells. Results: Tg dose-dependently stimulated rat myometrial contractions as well as MLC20 phosphorylation in vitro, which could be completely suppressed by an inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). Use of Ca2+ channel blockers and kinase inhibitors demonstrated that Tg-induced myometrial contractions are mediated by activation of the phospholipase C (PLC)-inositol triphosphate (IP3) signaling pathway, resulting in increased MLC20 phosphorylation. Furthermore, Y27632, a specific inhibitor of Rho kinase (ROK), notably suppressed Tg-stimulated myometrial contractions and decreased MLC20 phosphorylation. Conclusions: These data provide evidence that rat myometrial contractility induced by Tg results from enhanced MLC20 phosphorylation, while both PLC-IP3 and RhoA/ROK signaling pathways mediate the process. These mechanisms may be responsible for the therapeutic effects of TSSPs on abnormal uterine bleeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study showed that fructose is an important active constituent that is responsible for Si-Wu-Tang's (SWT) effects promoting hematopoiesis and immunity. In order to provide primary data for analysis of the mechanism of fructose's bioactivity, the concentration of serum fructose in rats after a single oral administration dose of Si-Wu-Tang was determined. The concentration of serum fructose in fasting rats was 0.34 ± 0.24 mg/dL. After oral administration of 7.2 mL per kg body weight of SWT extract (1 mL extract corresponds to 1 g SWT dried herbs), serum fructose levels reached a peak concentration of 1.03 ± 0.25 mg/dL within 60 min, and then declined to the baseline level within 180 min, a pattern which is similar to the one reported for oral administration of pure fructose. The peak concentration was only 2-3 times higher than the baseline serum fructose concentration. These results showed that the increase of blood fructose concentration after oral administration of SWT is small and transient, which is very probably due to the quick metabolism of fructose by the liver. We suggest, for future research, it is necessary to consider the probability that fructose's bioactivity on hematopoiesis and immunity is not exerted by fructose in its original form, but after it is metabolized by the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]