N. I. Kulesh

Isoflavonoid production by callus cultures of Maackia amurensis

Callus cultures were established from the different parts of Maackia amurensis plants and analyzed for isoflavonoids. The isoflavones daidzein, retuzin, genistein and formononetin and the pterocarpans maakiain and medicarpin were found to be produced by these cultures. The content of isoflavones and pterocarpans was essentially the same in cultures derived from leaf petioles, inflorescences and apical meristems of the plant. The maximal yield of isoflavones and pterocarpans in calluses was 20.8 mg/g cell dry wt., approximately four times higher than the content of the heartwood of M. amurensis plants. Unlike wild-growing plants, none of the cell cultures had the ability to accumulate stilbenes.

Minor polyphenols from Maackia amurensis wood

The rare α,4,2′,4′-tetrahydroxydihydrochalcone, flavanones liquiritigenin and naringenin, isoflavones calycosin and 5-methoxydaidzein, and reduced stilbene dihydroresveratrol were isolated for the first time from Maackia amurensis wood. The structures of the pure compounds were established using 2D NMR COSY, NOE, HMBC, and HSQC experiments.

About native components of extracts fromMaackia amurensis wood

A new dimeric stilbene, the name for which is suggested as maackin A, is isolated from the wood ofMaackia amurensis. The structure of maackin A is determined by NMR, UV, and IR spectral methods. Thecis-isomers that are observed during fractionation of the extracts are not native components of the wood but are formed from thetrans-dimers under certain separation conditions.

Antioxidant activity of polyphenols and polyphenol complex from the far-eastern tree Maackia amurensis

The polyphenol complex (maksar) from the Far-Eastern tree Maackia amurensis and its phenolic constituents were tested for their ability to (1) scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH), (2) reduce Folin—Ciocalteau reagent (FCR), (3) reduce radical cations of 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS∙+), and (4) inhibit peroxide-induced oxidation of linoleic acid (LA). It was established that the main components of maksar that contribute to the antioxidant potential of the polyphenol complex were the stilbenes resveratrol, piceatannol, scirpusin A, scirpusin B, maackiazine, and maackoline; the isoflavonoids retusin, tectorigenin, and genistein, and the minor isoflavonoids calycosin and vestitol, the stilbene dihydroresveratrol, and the chalcones isoliquiritigenin and α,2′,4′,4-tetrahydroxydihydrochalcone.

Natural antioxidants. Furanoeremophilanes from Cacalia roots

Sesquiterpene compounds of the furanoeremophilane series have been isolated from extracts of the roots ofCacalia sp. growing in the Soviet Far East. The presence of antioxidant and antiradical activities in two representatives of the series has been established.

Study of chemical composition of quinoid pigments from the Lithospermum erythrothizon sieb. ET Zucc cell culture B-39

Natural compounds with a quinoid structure often have a wide spectrum of biological activity. Many of them exhibit antimicrobial, fungicidal, and high antitumorigenic activity.. For this reason, some quinones of plant origin have found practical application as components of drugs and as food preservatives. The naphthoquinone shikonin and its enantiomer alkannin are effectively employed in the form of acyl derivatives in the treatment of all existing skin diseases (ulcers, eczema), and also frost-bite, burns and wounds [i0, 17, 20]. The wound healing properties of these compounds are combined with their antitumorigenic activity [ii, 21]. Shikonin is also used in perfumery and in the food industry as a natural dye [23].

Flavonoids ofTriadenum japonicum

The raw material was gathered in the flowering period in the flood plain of the R. Bogataya (Suburb of Vladivostok). After repeated extraction with ethanol, the concentrated extracts were diluted with water and were reextrated successively with hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol. The resulting fractions were separated with the aid of chromatography on silica gel. On elution with benzene, the hexane extract yielded compound (I) -white crystals with the composition CsoH~803, mp 318°C, M + 456.

Effects of Isoflavonoids from Maackia Amurensis Roots on the Metabolic Reactions of the Liver in Experimental Toxic Hepatitis

A complex of isoflavonoids containing more than 78% isoflavone and pterocarpan glycosides was obtained from an alcoholic extract of the roots of the Amur maackia, a far eastern relict tree (Maackia amurensis Ruper et Maxim.). This complex contained the 7-O-gentiobiosides of daidzein, genistein, afromosin, pseudobaptigenin, formononetin, and 5-O-methylgenistein, the 3-O-gentiobiosides of maackiain and medicarpin, the compounds daidzin, and genistein, 7-O-primverosylformononetin, and the novel 7-O-primverosylpseudobaptigenin. Studies using a model of toxic hepatitis induced by poisoning of rats with carbon tetrachloride addressed the effects of the complex of isoflavonoids on the state of carbohydrate metabolism in the rat liver. Administration of this complex to animals with CCl4 hepatitis decreased the activity of marker enzymes for cytolysis and the specific weight of the liver, promoted maintenance of the blood glucose and oxidized nicotinamide coenzyme (NAD+) levels, and normalized pyruvate and lactate levels in the animals’ livers. The isoflavonoid complex extracted from Maackia amurensis was more effective in restoring the reactions of liver carbohydrate metabolism (gluconeogenesis, Krebs cycle) than the reference hepatoprotector Legalon®.

Method for the quantitative determination of the isoflavones and polyhydroxystilbenes of Maackia amurensis

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