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Five sesquiterpenoids including 2α-hydroxyoplopanone (1), oplopanone (2), 1β,4β,6α-trihydroxy-eudesmane (3), 1β,4β,7α-trihydroxy-eudesmane (4) and bullatantriol (5) were isolated from Homalomena pendula. The structure of the previously reported compound, 5,7-diepi-2α-hydroxyoplopanone (1a), has been revised to 1 by the spectroscopic evidences (1D-/2D-NMR, IR, UV and HRESIMS) and by comparison between experimental and theoretical NMR data using DP4+ protocol. Furthermore, the absolute configuration of 1 was unambiguously assigned by ECD experiments. Compounds 2 and 4 displayed a potent ability to stimulate osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells at 4 µg/mL (by 123.74% and 131.07%, respectively) and 20 µg/mL (by 112.45% and 126.41%, respectively) whilst 3 and 5 did not show any activities. At 20 µg/mL, 4 and 5 significantly promoted the mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells with values of 112.95% and 116.37%, respectively, whereas 2 and 3 were inactive. The results indicated that 4 could be an excellent component for anti-osteoporosis studies from the rhizomes of H. pendula.

Wound healing is vital to maintain the physiological functions of the skin.

An efficient choline chloride-based DES method is used to extract curcumin in turmeric residue for the first time.

Soil factors, especially metal elements in the soil, play a significant role in forming and accumulating secondary metabolites, which determine the medicinal properties of medicinal herbs. In this study, the concentrations of some metal elements (K, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Cr) in Cam Mountain and Tinh Bien Town, An Giang Province, Vietnam, were determined using the XRF method. We simultaneously determined the total phenolic and flavonoid content of some medicinal herbs collected from the collected soil sample areas, thereby assessing the influence of these elements on the formation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. The results showed that K, Mn, and Cr were mainly concentrated in the topsoil and transition layers; Fe and Cu elements tended to concentrate in the transition layer and the subsoil when surveying the soil profile. K, Mn, Cu, and Cr concentrations were more focused in Tinh Bien area, while Fe and Zn had higher concentrations at Cam Mountain. Additionally, results from evaluating the relationship between the content of the elements in the soil and the content of two active compounds also showed the corresponding relationship between Cr/Phenolic, Cu/Phenolic, and Zn/Flavonoid (R2 = 0.74; R2 = 0.75; R2 = 0.90, respectively) with the corresponding correlation equations at level six.

In the gastric mucosa, chronic inflammation due to

Three undescribed 9,10-seco-isopimarane diterpenoids, marginols I-K, and an unprecedent isopimara-8(9),15-diene diterpene, 14-epi-boesenberol F, together with a known 9,10-seco-isopimarane diterpenoid, kaemgalangol A, were isolated from the rhizomes of Vietnamese Kaempferia marginata. Marginols I and J contained a naturally very rare 6-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-5-ol ring, while marginol K had a naturally rare oxepan-2-one ring in its structure. The unprecedented structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques, including HR-ESI-TOF-MS, UV, IR, and 1D and 2D NMR. The absolute configurations of marginols I-K and 14-epi-boesenberol F were determined by ECD calculations. The NO production inhibitory assay revealed that the isolated compounds, except marginol J, exhibited NO inhibitory activities with IC

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of death in cancer patients, and deregulation of apoptosis is a serious concern in clinical practice, even though therapeutic intervention has been greatly improved. Plants are a versatile source of biologically active compounds for anticancer drug discovery, and aspiletrein A (AA) is a steroidal saponin isolated from Aspidistra letreae that has a potent cytotoxic effect on various cancer cell lines. In this study, we investigated and determined the underlying molecular mechanism by which AA induces apoptosis. AA strongly induced apoptosis in NSCLC cells by mediating ROS generation and thereby activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. Consequently, downstream signaling and levels of phosphorylated mTOR and Bcl-2 were significantly decreased. Pretreatment with either an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, or an AMPK inhibitor, compound C, could reverse the apoptosis-inducing effect and counteract the effect of AA on the AMPK signaling pathway. Decreased levels of Bcl-2 were due to AA-mediating Bcl-2 degradation via a ROS/AMPK/mTOR axis-dependent proteasomal mechanism. Consistently, the apoptotic-inducing effect of AA was also observed in patient-derived malignant lung cancer cells, and it suppressed an in vitro 3D-tumorigenesis. This study identified the underlying mechanism of AA on lung cancer apoptosis, thereby facilitating potential research and development of this compound for further clinical implications.

A new spirostanol steroid, aspidiata A (

Four compounds, luteolin (1), 6-γ,γ-dimethylallylquercetin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), 6-γ,γ-dimethylallylkaempferol 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), and 6-γ,γ-dimethylallyldihydrokaempferol 7-O-β-D-glucoside (4), were isolated for the first time from AcOEt extract of the O. integerrima flower. We then evaluated the antioxidant effects of AcOEt, butanol, and MeOH extracts and their effects on H

A new spirostanol steroid, aspidiata A (1), and a new spirostanol steroidal saponin, aspidiata B (2), along with three known compounds, paris saponin VII (3), daucosterol (4), and (25R)-spirostane-1β,2β,3β,4β,5β,6β-hexol (5), were isolated from whole plants of Aspidistra triradiata collected in Vietnam. Their chemical structures were established by spectroscopic analysis and comparison with previously published data. Compound 3 showed strong cytotoxicity against LU-1, Hep-G2, MCF-7, and KB human cancer cell lines with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 0.57 to 1.23 µM. Compound 5 exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against the LU-1 cell line, with an IC50 value of 95.81 µM.

Kaempferia marginata rhizomes are used as an herb in food and as traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory-related diseases in Asian countries. In contrast to the previously reported phytochemical investigation of Thai and Chinese K. marginata rhizomes, which demonstrated the presence of sandaracopimaradiene and ent-sandaracopimaradiene, our first investigation of Vietnamese K. marginata rhizomes led to the isolation of eight undescribed pimarane diterpenoids, marginols A‒H, along with 18 known pimarane diterpenoids. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, and CD spectroscopy and/or by comparisons of their NMR data with previously reported data. Furthermore, evaluations of the NO production inhibitory activity against LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells revealed that the undescribed compounds, marginols B and D‒G, and the known compounds, sandaracopimaradien-6β,9α-diol-1-one and 6-acetoxysandaracopimardien-9-ol-1-one, showed potent activities. These results provide insights into the chemodiversity of Vietnamese K. marginata rhizomes as well as their traditional usage from the viewpoint of their chemical constituents.