Yun-Song Wang

A New 2′-Oxygenated Flavone Glycoside from Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) C. B. Rob.

A new 2′-oxygenated flavone glycoside, named glutin, was isolated from Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) C. B. Rob. along with four known compounds. The structure was identified as 2′,5,7-trihydroxy-6-methoxyflavone 2′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis.

Ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of the genus Litsea: An update

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE The genus Litsea is one of the most diverse genera of evergreen trees or shrubs belong to Lauraceae, and comprises roughly 400 species of tree that are distributed abundantly throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, North and South America. Litsea species have been used globally in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases including influenza, stomach aches, diarrhea, diabetes, vomiting, bone pain, inflammation, illness related to the central nervous system and other ailments. The purpose of this review is to provide updated, comprehensive and categorized information on the ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacological research of Litsea species in order to explore their therapeutic potential and evaluate future research opportunities. MATERIALS AND METHODS All the available information on Litsea species was actualised by systematically searching the scientific literatures including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, and South American herbal classics, library catalogs and scientific databases (PubMed, SciFinder, Web of Science, Google Scholar, VIP and Wanfang). The Plant List, International Plant Name index and Scientific Database of China Plant Species were used to validate scientific names. RESULTS 407 secondary metabolites have been reported from Litsea species. Litsea Species are sources of secondary metabolites with interesting chemical structures (alkaloids, lactones, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, lignans, and essential oils) and significant bioactivities. Crude extracts, fractions and phytochemical constituents isolated from Litsea show a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-HIV, insecticidal, etc. CONCLUSIONS From data collected in this review, the genus Litsea comprises a wide range of therapeutically promising and valuable plants, and has attracted much attention owing to its multiple functions. Many traditional uses of Litsea species have now been validated by modern pharmacology research. Deep and systematic phytochemical investigation of the genus Litsea and the pharmacological properties, especially its mechanism of action and toxicology, to illustrate its ethnomedicinal use, explore the therapeutic potential and support further health-care product development will undoubtedly be the focus of further research. Therefore, detailed and extensive studies and clinical evaluation of Litsea species should be carried out in future for the safety approval of therapeutic applications.

Megastigmane O-glucopyranosides from Litsea glutinosa

0009-3130/12/4802-0346 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 1) Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Science and Technology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, P. R. China, fax: 0871 5035538, e-mail: yangjh@ynu.edu.cn; yangjhkm@hotmail.com; 2) Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Science, Kunming 650031, P. R. China; 3) Yunnan Institute of Product Quality Supervision and Inspection, Kunming 650031, P. R. China. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, March–April, 2012, pp. 310–312. Original article submitted January 12, 2011. Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Vol. 48, No. 2, May, 2012 [Russian original No. 2, March–April, 2012]

Ullmann reaction in tetraethyl orthosilicate: a novel synthesis of triarylamines and diaryl ethers

A novel synthesis of triarylamines and diaryl ethers is reported; a feature of this process is the ligand-free copper-catalysed C-N and C-O bond formation in tetraethyl orthosilicate.

Chemical constituents of Litsea szemaois

0009-3130/11/4701-0122 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Science and Technology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, P. R. China, fax: 0871 5035538, e-mail: yangjh@ynu.edu.cn. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, p. 108, January–February, 2011. Original article submitted September 29, 2009. Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Vol. 47, No. 1, March, 2011 [Russian original No. 1, January–February, 2011]

Chemical constituents of Pteris multifida

Phytochemical study of the whole plant of Pteris multifida Poir. afforded eight compounds 1–8. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 was a new natural pterosin, (2R)-acetyl pterosin B, and was evaluated for cytotoxic activity against human tumor cell lines HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, and SW480.

Flavonoids from leaves and twigs of Stachyurus himalaicus VAR. himalaicus

0009-3130/11/4701-0112 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry for Natural Resource, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Science and Technology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, P. R. China, fax: 0871 5035538, e-mail: kmwangys@hotmail.com. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 100–101, January–February, 2011. Original article submitted October 3, 2009. Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Vol. 47, No. 1, March, 2011 [Russian original No. 1, January–February, 2011]

Coumarins from Clausena anisum-olens Merr.

Seven coumarins, including a new O-terpenoidal coumarin, named anisumarin (1), were isolated from Clausena anisum-olens Merr. The structure of this new coumarin was identified as 7-{(E)-4-[(4-acetoxymethyl-1,5-dihydro-5-oxo)-2H-furylium-2-yl]-3-methyl-2-butenoxy}-8-methoxycoumarin on the basis of an extensive spectroscopic analysis.