Mei Ji

Terpenoids and bisbibenzyls from Chinese liverworts Conocephalum conicum and Dumortiera hirsuta

Four new monoterpene esters, 2α,5β-dihydroxybornane-2-cinnamate (1), 2α,5β-dihydroxybornane-5-acetyl-2-cinnamate (2), 2α,5β-dihydroxybornane-2-p-hydroxycinnamate (3) and 2α,5β-dihydroxy-bornane-2-cis-p-hydroxycinnamate (4), together with a known compound 3,4-dimethoxystyrene (5) were isolated from Chinese liverwort Conocephalum conicum and six known compounds, 5,7-dihydroxycalamenene (6), 7-hydroxycalamenene (7), lunularin (8), riccardin C (9), marchantin C (10) and riccardin D (11) were isolated from Dumortiera hirsuta. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectral analysis and chemical correlations. Compounds 1 and 8 showed moderate cytotoxicity against human HepG2 cells with IC50 4.5 μg/ml and 7.4 μg/ml, respectively, while compound 8 also showed antimicrobacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa with minimum inhibitory concentration at 64 μg/ml.

Efficient synthesis of trisaccharide saponins and their tumor cell killing effects through oncotic necrosis

To investigate the relationship of cytotoxicity and saponins with varied aglycones, based on the structure of indioside E 1, a natural derived anti-tumor active ingredient from Chinese medicinal plant Solanum indicum L., five novel saponins 2-6 bearing the same trisaccharide moiety together with 1 were efficiently synthesized via a transglycosylation strategy. MTT assay revealed the killing effects to tumor cells of the synthesized saponins are varied with the change of aglycones. Furthermore, time-lapse microscopy, LDH release, PI staining, and immunocytochemical investigations demonstrated that the cell death caused by neosaponin 2 was through oncotic necrosis involving plasma membrane perturbation and destruction of cytoskeleton.

Stereochemistry of flavonoidal alkaloids from Dracocephalum rupestre

Phytochemical studies on the aerial parts of Dracocephalum rupestre led to the isolation of four groups of flavonoidal alkaloids, dracocephins A-D. They were elucidated as conjugates of flavanone with pyrrolidin-2-one on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. The two stereogenic centers rendered each group of the dracocephins as two pairs of enantiomers simultaneously. All of the sixteen isomers were separated successfully by chiral HPLC and their stereochemical features were determined by their CD data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of one stereoisomer. The additive relation of the chiroptical contributions resulting from the two stereogenic centers was generalized. The CD contribution of the chiral carbon in the pyrrolidin-2-one ring was proposed by subtraction of their respective contributions.

Cycloartane-Type Triterpenoids from the Resinous Exudates of Commiphora opobalsamum

Eight new cycloartane-type triterpenoids, cycloartan-24-ene-1alpha,2alpha,3alpha-triol (1), 3beta-acetoxycycloartan-24-ene-1alpha,2alpha-diol (2), 1alpha-acetoxycycloartan-24-ene-2alpha,3beta-diol (3), 3beta-isovaleroyloxycycloartan-24-ene-1alpha,2alpha-diol (4), cycloartan-24-ene-1alpha,3beta-diol (5), cycloartan-23 E-ene-1alpha,2alpha,3beta,25-tetrol (6), and an epimeric mixture of 24 R,25-epoxycycloartane-1alpha,2alpha,3beta-triol (7) and 24 S,25-epoxycycloartane-1alpha,2alpha,3beta-triol (8), together with one known compound, cycloartan-24-ene-1alpha,2alpha,3beta-triol (9), were isolated from the resinous exudates of Commiphora opobalsamum. Their structures were established on the basis of mass spectrometry and multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1-9 was evaluated against the PC3 and DU145 human prostate tumor cell lines. All of the compounds except 1 and 5 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against PC3 or DU145 cells with IC50 values ranging from 10.1 to 37.2 microM.

ent-Kaurane Diterpenoids from the Liverwort Jungermannia atrobrunnea

Three new rearranged ent-kaurane-type diterpenoids (1-3) and seven new ent-kaurane-type diterpenoids (4-10) have been isolated from the liverwort Jungermannia atrobrunnea. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic techniques and X-ray crystallographic analysis. The absolute configurations of these compounds were clarified by CD spectroscopic studies. Compound 1 is the first example of a rearranged ent-kaurane diterpenoid possessing a peroxide bridge.

Antifungal macrocyclic bis(bibenzyls) from the Chinese liverwort Ptagiochasm intermedlum L.

Six macrocyclic bis(bibenzyls) were obtained from the Chinese liverwort Ptagiochasm intermedlum L., and their structures were elucidated as pakyonol (1), neomarchantin A (2), isoriccardin C (3), marchantin H (4), riccardin F (5) and riccardin C (6) on the basis of spectroscopic data and comparison with known compounds. Among them, compounds 3–5 were isolated from this liverwort species for the first time. They possessed in vitro antifungal properties against the fluconazole-sensitive and resistant strains of Candida albicans, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 32 to >512 µg mL−1. Furthermore, riccardin C was also demonstrated to act as a fungal resistance modifying agent when its combined effect with fluconazole on three resistant strains of C. albicans was investigated. The synergistic or additive activity of riccardin C caused dramatically reduced MICs of fluconazole by at most 256-fold.

A novel derivative of riccardin D induces cell death through lysosomal rupture in vitro and inhibits tumor growth in vivo

In the present study, the effect of a novel derivative of riccardin D (RD-N) against cancer cell lines was investigated in vitro and in vivo. We found that RD-N accumulated in the lysosomes associated with lysosomal swelling. As a result, the destabilized lysosomes induced cathepsins to release from the lysosomes into the cytosol and induced cell death which displayed features characteristic to both apoptosis and necrosis. In vivo tumor xenograft model indicated treatment of RD-N significantly reduced size and weight of the tumor compared with vehicles. These findings suggest RD-N could be a promising candidate for treatment of cancer.

Absolute configuration determination of angular dihydrocoumarins from Peucedanum praeruptorum

From Peucedanum praeruptorum, one new khellactone ester (3′R)-O-acetyl-(4′S)-O-angeloylkhellactone (3), as well as four known angular dihydropyranocoumarins (1, 2, 4, 5) have been isolated. On the basis of NMR spectra and X-ray crystallography, their structures were determined. We have elucidated their absolute configuration by either chiral separation of their alkaline hydrolysis products with Rp-18 HPLC eluted with 5% hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (β-HCD) or by measurement of their CD spectra. A general rule relating the position and absolute stereochemistry of the khellactone esters to the sign of their Cotton effects in CD curves is proposed.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of Combretastatin A-4 derivatives containing a 3’-O-substituted carbonic ether moiety as potential antitumor agents

BackgroundCombretastatin A-4 (CA-4), which is an excellent antineoplastic agent, was isolated from Combretum caffrum. To date, structural modification studies of CA-4 have focused predominantly on the construction of new therapeutic agents for drug discovery. As a part of our ongoing work towards the modification of natural products, we have focused on the 3’-O-substituent groups in the B-ring of CA-4 under the hypothesis that these novel derivatives will possess good bioactivities and behave as effective antiproliferative pro-drugs.ResultsA series of novel CA-4 derivatives, which contained a 3’-O-substituted carbonic ether moiety, were synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor activities against four tumor cell lines, including MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, K562 and A549 cells. These derivatives exhibited clear antitumor activities, and CA-4E, in particular, showed the highest bioactivity of all of the derivatives tested against all four tumor cell lines, with IC50 values in the range of 1 to 180 nM. Based on its high bioactivity, CA-4E was subsequently selected to investigate the antitumor mechanism of these synthetic compounds. The cell cycle results demonstrated that CA-4E induced time- and dose-dependent G2/M arrest in a similar manner to CA-4, although its effect was more powerful than that of CA-4, and the apoptosis data showed that CA-4E induced cellular apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.ConclusionsThe newly synthesized CA-4 derivatives exhibited good antitumor activities in vitro, with CA-4E, in particular, showing the highest bioactivity of all of the compounds tested. Furthermore, CA-4E induced time- and dose-dependent G2/M arrest and cellular apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these results suggest that CA-4E should be subjected to further investigation as a potential anticancer drug candidate.

Lobarialides A-C, antifungal triterpenoids from the lichen Lobaria kurokawae.

Three novel fernane-type triterpenoids, lobarialides A-C (1-3, resp.), together with two known ones were isolated by antifungal bioassay-guided fractionation of the lichen Lobaria kurokawae. Their structures including configurations were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses, and that of 1 was confirmed by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Antifungal tests of the five triterpenoids showed that the activity increased with the increment of the number of COO groups.