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As a part of our ongoing search for bioactive compounds from the dried latex of Euphorbia resinifera (Euphorbium), a new rearranged tirucallane triterpene with a spiro [5,6] ring system, euphorol K (1), and a novel euphane triterpene hydroperoxide, euphorol J (2), together with a known compound, kansuinone (3) have been isolated. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive analyses of their spectroscopic, circular dichroism (CD) measurement and theoretical calculation (ECD) methods. The cytotoxicity of all compounds against MCF-7, U937 and C6 cancer cell lines was evaluated. Compounds 1−3 exhibited various degrees of cytotoxic effect against MCF-7.

Two new ingol-type diterpenes, euphoresins A–B (1–2), have been isolated from the methanol extract of Euphorbium, the latex of Euphorbia resinifera Berg. Their structures were established o...

Two new ingol-type diterpenes, euphoresins A-B (

Context: Ma Huang Tang (MHT) has been used to treat influenza, fever, bronchial asthma, etc. as a traditional Chinese medication. However, the anti-inflammation mechanism of MHT remains unclear. Objective: The study identifies the possible mechanisms of MHT on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced acute bronchial asthma in mice. Materials and methods: First, an asthma-related protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. And then, the acute bronchial asthma mice models were established by exposing to aerosolized 1% ovalbumin for 30 min/day for 1 week, and the mice were administered 2.0, 4.0, or 8.0 g/kg of MHT daily. To evaluate therapeutic effect, sensitization time, abdominal breathing time, eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and tissue and trachea pathology were examined. Related genes were measured using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The expression levels of TLR9 in lung and trachea tissues were determined by immunohistochemical staining. Results: MHT had a LD50 = 19.2 g/kg against asthma, while MHT at high doses (8 g/kg) effectively extended the sensitization time and abdominal breathing time and alleviated OVA-induced eosinophilic airway inflammation and mitigated pathological changes. The RNA-seq assay showed that the high-dose MHT resulted in a significant decrease in the levels of TLR9, TRAF6, TAB2, etc. in the lung tissue. Immunohistochemical assay confirmed the down-regulated of TLR9. Molecular docking revealed that six MHT compounds potentially mediated the TLR9 signaling pathway. Discussion and conclusions: MHT could mitigate the pathological changes of acute asthma-like syndrome through inhibition of the TLR9 pathway. Results of this study may provide a reference for the development of a novel therapy for patients with allergic asthma.

Ten triterpenes compounds were isolated from the methanol extraction of the latex of Euphorbia resinifera by means of various chromatographic methods such as silica gel, ODS and semi-preparative HPLC, Their structures were identified by spectroscopic methods and physicochemical properties. These isolated compounds were identified as 3

Three new sesquiterpenes of canusesnol K (1), canusesnol L (2) and 12, 15-dihydroxycurcumene (3), along with five known ones (4-8), were isolated from the heartwood extract of Pterocarpus santalinus. Their structures were established by extensive analyses of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, including 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY, and HRESI-MS. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were established with Modified Mosher's method. The cytotoxic activities of all these compounds against HepG2 (human liver cancer), MCF-7 (human breast cancer), MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer), and Hela (human cervical carcinoma) cancer cell lines were evaluated. Compound 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activity toward MDA-MB-231 cell lines.

Nine novel compounds, six euphane triterpenes, Euphorol A-D (1-4), H (8) and I (9), and three tirucallane triterpenes, Euphorol E-G (5-7) including four nortriterpenes, together with seven known compounds (10-16) have been isolated from the methanol extraction of Euphorbium. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive analyses of their HR-ESI-MS, UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR methods. A putative biogenetic relationship to these compounds was proposed. The cytotoxicity of all these isolates against MCF-7, U937 and C6 cancer cell lines was evaluated. Compounds 1-3, 10, 11 and 13-16 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities.