Shoude Zhang

Sesquiterpene lactones from Inula falconeri, a plant endemic to the Himalayas, as potential anti-inflammatory agents

A phytochemical investigation of Inula falconeri, a plant endemic to the Himalayas, afforded 10 new sesquiterpenoids and 26 known sesquiterpene lactones, including those bearing guaiane, pseudoguaiane, xanthane, eudesmane, germacrane, rare secocaryophyllane, chromolaevane, and carabrane frameworks. The structures were elucidated via spectroscopic analysis and compared with data from literature. All the isolates were assessed for their inhibitory effects against LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Compounds 4, 11, 24, and 31 showed stronger inhibitory activities than the positive control with IC(50) values of 0.13, 0.07, 0.11, and 0.11 μM, respectively. These studies also led to a better understanding of the structure-activity relationships for the sesquiterpene lactone family of compounds.

Pseudoguaianolides and guaianolides from Inula hupehensis as potential anti-inflammatory agents.

Eight new pseudoguaianolides (1-8), two new guaianolides (9 and 10), and 14 known sesquiterpenes were isolated from the aerial parts of Inula hupehensis. The structures were elucidated using spectroscopic methods and circular dichroism analysis. All compounds were tested for inhibitory activities against LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages. Compounds 13 and 22 were found to inhibit nitric oxide production potently, with IC50 values of 0.9 and 0.6 μM, respectively. Preliminary structure-activity relationships for these compounds are proposed.

Sesquiterpenoids and triterpenoids from Abies holophylla and their bioactivities.

Six previously unreported and 11 known terpenoids were isolated from Abies holophylla. The structures of the six compounds were established as two unusual bisabolane sesquiterpenoids, three nortriterpenoids, and one 3,4-seco-triterpenoid based on the detailed analysis of their 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. In addition, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations and molecular orbital (MO) analysis were used to assign the absolute configuration of one bisabolane sesquiterpenoid, abiesesquine A. Abiesesquine A showed the strongest inhibitory effects against LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 macrophages with an IC(50) value of 113.1 μM. Lanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-26-oic acid showed potent cytotoxic activity against COLO-205, LOVO, and QGY-7703 tumor cells with IC(50) values of 0.9, 4.2, and 2.0 μM, respectively. (23R,25R)-3,4-seco-9βH-Lanosta-4(28),7-dien-26,23-olid-3-oic acid, exhibited a significant antiproliferation effect against A549 cells (IC(50)=14.7 μM).

Incarvilleatone, a new cyclohexylethanoid dimer from Incarvillea younghusbandii and its inhibition against nitric oxide (NO) release.

Incarvilleatone (1), an unprecedented dimeric cyclohexylethanoid analog with a racemic nature, was isolated from the whole plant of Incarvillea younghusbandii. HPLC chiral separation of 1 gave two enantiomers (-)-incarvilleatone and (+)-incarvilleatone. The structure of 1 was established by spectroscopic methods and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The absolute configurations of enantiomers were determined by quantum mechanical calculation. (-)-Incarvilleatone exhibited a potent inhibitory effect against NO production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages.

Fast and effective identification of the bioactive compounds and their targets from medicinal plants via computational chemical biology approach

The potential drug target database (PDTD) was searched by the TarFisDock server, a reverse docking approach, to identify putative targets for a collection of 19 natural products derived from two medicinal plants Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst (BMW) and Daphne odora Thunb. var. marginata (DOT), which are both used for the treatment of diabetes and inflammation in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Out of the top 5% of target candidates, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) was the most frequent potential target and the predicted results were subsequently confirmed by in vitroenzyme assay. As a result, five natural products show moderate inhibitory activities against DPP-IV with IC50 values ranging from 14.13 μM to 113.76 μM. Subsequently, thirteen analogues of active compounds out of our in-house natural products database (NPD) were also identified with inhibitory activity against DPP-IV, with IC50 values ranging from 26.92 μM to 87.72 μM. The results indicate that the computational chemical biology approach is a good complement to the experimental target identification strategies for elucidating the mechanism of the natural products, especially for those components without unambiguous binding targets whilst having some traditional efficacy in TCM.

Discovery of natural estrogen receptor modulators with structure-based virtual screening

Eleven compounds were identified as estrogen receptor modulators from an in-house natural product database (NPD) by structure-based virtual screening for ERα and ERβ. Among them, 3 compounds were confirmed as ER agonists and 8 compounds were confirmed as ER antagonists by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay, with EC50 values ranging from several micromolar to 100 micromolar. In this study, a novel series of cycloartane triterpenoids isolated from Schisandra glaucescens Diels was found to have ER antagonistic effect, the most potent antagonist of which exhibited activity with EC50 value of 2.55 and 4.68 μM for ERα and ERβ, respectively. Moreover, the types of modulation and subtype selectivity were also investigated through molecular docking simulation.

Sesquiterpene lactones from Inula hookeri.

Four new sesquiterpene lactones, (1 S,5 R,6 S,7 S,8 R,9 R,10 S,11 S)-6-acetoxy-9-hydroxy-4-oxo-pseudoguai-2(3)-en-12,8-olide, (1 S,2 R,5 R,6 S,7 R,8 S,10 R)-6-acetoxy-2-ethoxy-4-oxo-pseudoguai-11(13)-en-12,8-olide, (1 S,2 R,5 R,6 S,7 R,8 S,10 R)-6-acetoxy-2-hydroxy-4-oxo-pseudoguai-11(13)-en-12,8-olide, and 14-acetoxy-1 β,5 α,7 αH-4 β-hydroxy-guai-9(10),11(13)-dien-12,8 α-olide, along with 26 known sesquiterpene lactones, were isolated from the whole plants of Inula hookeri C. B. Clarke. Their structures were established based on spectroscopic methods including HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, and CD techniques. All compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against HepG2, HeLa, PC-3, and MGC-803 cell lines by CCK-8 assay. Some of the isolates, especiallly pseudoguaianolides and guaianolides, exhibited significant cytotoxicities against these four examined cell lines.

Sesquiterpenoids from Inula racemosa Hook. f. Inhibit Nitric Oxide Production

A novel trinorsesquiterpene (1), three new (2-4), and 10 known sesquiterpenes were isolated from the roots of Inula racemosa Hook. f. The structures and absolute configurations of the new sesquiterpenes were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic and computational methods. All compounds were evaluated for their inhibition of LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages, and the results indicated that compounds 9, 12, and 13 moderately inhibited nitric oxide production with IC₅₀ values of 7.39 ± 0.36, 6.35 ± 0.26, and 5.39 ± 0.18 µM, respectively.

Sesquiterpene Lactones from Inula hupehensis Inhibit Nitric Oxide Production in RAW264.7 Macrophages

Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Inula hupehensis Ling. led to the isolation and identification of 27 sesquiterpene lactones (1-27), including three new eudesmanolides (3-5), three new germacranolides (9-11), one new xanthanolide (16), two new carabrone derivatives (25-26), and 18 known sesquiterpene lactones. The structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods and comparison to previously reported spectroscopic data. All compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects against LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages, and compound 5 showed the strongest activity with the IC₅₀ value of 3.2 ± 0.4 µM.

Systematic Analysis of the Multiple Bioactivities of Green Tea through a Network Pharmacology Approach

During the past decades, a number of studies have demonstrated multiple beneficial health effects of green tea. Polyphenolics are the most biologically active components of green tea. Many targets can be targeted or affected by polyphenolics. In this study, we excavated all of the targets of green tea polyphenolics (GTPs) though literature mining and target calculation and analyzed the multiple pharmacology actions of green tea comprehensively through a network pharmacology approach. In the end, a total of 200 Homo sapiens targets were identified for fifteen GTPs. These targets were classified into six groups according to their related disease, which included cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, muscular disease, and inflammation. Moreover, these targets mapped into 143 KEGG pathways, 26 of which were more enriched, as determined though pathway enrichment analysis and target-pathway network analysis. Among the identified pathways, 20 pathways were selected for analyzing the mechanisms of green tea in these diseases. Overall, this study systematically illustrated the mechanisms of the pleiotropic activity of green tea by analyzing the corresponding “drug-target-pathway-disease” interaction network.