Xu-Dong Zheng

Constituents of the root of Anemone tomentosa

A new diterpene glycoside, tomentoside I (1), along with eleven known compounds, including the four coumarins, 4,5-dimethoxyl-7-methylcoumarin (2), 4,7-dimethoxyl-5-methylcoumarin (3), isofraxidin (4) and fraxidin (5) as well as the seven triterpenoids, oleanolic acid (6), oleanolic acid 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (7), oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), hederagenin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (9), betulinic acid (10), 18-hydroxyursolic acid (11) and 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (12) were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the root of Anemone tomentosa and their chemical structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The antimicrobial activities of compounds 1–12 were measured using the agar disc-diffusion method. Also, their antioxidant activities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were evaluated.

Chemical compositions and antimicrobial activities of essential oils extracted from Acanthopanax brachypus

The essential oils from the flowers, leaves, barks, roots and fruits of A. brachypus were individually extracted by hydrodistillation, and their chemical constituents were isolated and characterized by means of gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 160 different constituents accounting for 86.45–96.54% of the total essential oils were identified, and 3 constituents were unidentified (< 0.8%), and significant qualitative and quantitative differences were observed among the oils, in which the yields varied between 0.61–1.83 (mL/100 g dried materials) under the same operational conditions. The oils from flowers, leaves, barks and roots consisted mainly of monoterpenes and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons as well as oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, while the fruit oil consisted mainly of fatty acids and esters. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils was evaluated against 11 microorganisms (9 for bacteria and 2 for yeast) using agar disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The bacteria, including gram-positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria, were more sensitive to the oils than yeasts.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of the essential oil from the leaves of Acanthopanax leucorrhizus (Oliv.) Harms

The leaf essential oil of Acanthopanax leucorrhizus, a widely used medicinal plant, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by using combination of capillary GC-FID, GC-MS and RI. Fifty-nine components, representing 93.1% of the total oil, were identified in the essential oil and the main components of the oil were β-pinene (7.3%), linalool (6.5%), p-cymene (6.3%), β-elemene (3.8%), γ-terpinene (3.7%), spathulenol (3.2%) and cis-sabinene hydrate (3.1%). Furthermore, the in vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the essential oil were examined. The test results showed that the essential oil exhibited a broad spectrum of anti-microbial activity against all microorganisms tested. Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive to the oil than gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. The oil possessed moderate cytotoxicity on human tumor cells with lower IC(50) values of 25.65μg/ml (Hep G2), 28.71μg/ml (Hela), 30.15μg/ml (Bel-7402) and 37.55μg/ml (A-549). The moderate antioxidant activity of the oil was also evaluated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical method.

Study on Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Fingerprint of Acanthopanax brachypus

As a peculiar folk medicinal plant, Acanthopanax brachypus was widely used to treat various diseases in China. At present, however, there is not a good quality standard for its quality evaluation. In this study, on the basis of the validation tests of precision, stability and repeatability, the chromatographic fingerprint of A. brachypus was established by using gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detector (FID) and GC-MS techniques, as well as computer aided similarity evaluation system. Thirty-two different batches of samples collected from the different producing regions and the different parts of A. brachypus were studied. The results showed that the dominant constituents of all oils were monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, as well as oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The fingerprinting profiles were found to be consistent for the fresh stem bark acquired from various production areas, 48 common peaks were determined, but the relative abundance of peaks was varied. β-Pinene, linalool, p-cymene, spathulenol, camphene, endo-borneol, verbenone, β-caryophyllene, γ-terpinene, germacrene-D, camphor, β-thujone and β-cadinene were the main constituents of the fresh stem bark oil. Except for the leaf, the chemical components among different medicinal parts of fresh plant were inconsistent with the stem bark. Besides, the varieties and relative levels of chemical components in the fresh stem bark were more abundant than in the dry counterpart. The GC-MS fingerprint can be successfully applied to distinguish the substitute or adulterant, and further assess the differences of A. brachypus grown in various areas of China.

Diterpenoids from Acanthopanax brachypus Harms.

Four diterpenoids, including two new ones, namely noracanthopanin A (1) and acanthopanolide B (2), and two known ones, ent‐pimara‐9(11),15‐dien‐19‐oic acid (3) and ent‐kaur‐16‐en‐19‐oic acid (4), were isolated from the stem bark of Acanthopanax brachypus Harms. Their structures were elucidated by physicochemical and spectroscopic analyses. Compound 1 and 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxicities against HO‐8910 cells with IC50 values of 65.21±0.23 and 31.43±1.01 μg/ml, respectively, and 2 showed selective weak cytotoxicity against SMMC‐7721 cells (IC50 89.67±2.54 μg/ml).

ANALYSIS OF FLAVONOIDS FROM LEAVES OF ACANTHOPANAX BRACHYPUS HARMS

Flavonoids were extracted from the leaves of Acanthopanax brachypus Harms by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and four known flavonoids were isolated from the extracts by column chromatography. On the basis of physico-chemical constants and spectral data, their structures were elucidated as quercetin, quercitrin, rutin and hyperin. The influences of experimental conditions, such as solvent concentration, solution-solid ratio, microwave irradiation time and power on the extraction yields were discussed in orthogonal experiments. The four flavonoids content in the leaves was determined by HPLC analysis. The analytical results reveal that A. brachypus leaves are abundant in flavonoids, the contents of quercetin, quercitrin, rutin and hyperin are 0.86, 1.65, 2.19 and 2.68 mgg1, respectively.