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Dragon Boat Festival herbal markets in the Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of southwestern Guizhou have a long well-conserved history. These markets, which are a feature of Buyi and Miao traditional medicines, contain a rich diversity of medicinal plants and traditional medical knowledge. Today, people in southwestern Guizhou still believe that using herbs during the Dragon Boat Festival prevents and can treat disease. In this study, we identified the fresh herbal plants sold at the herbal markets of Xingren City and Zhenfeng County in Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and quantified their importance. We identified 141 plant species (belonging to 114 genera and 61 families). The plant family with the most species was Asteraceae (14 species). Informants reported that most medicinal plants are herbaceous, with 95.7% of plants used for decoction and 30.5% used for medicinal baths. Medicinal plants are most commonly used to treat rheumatism, injury, and abdominal diseases. The utilization frequency index and relative importance values indicated that Artemisia argyi and Acorus calamus are the most important plants sold at herbal markets during the Dragon Boat Festival. The price of medicinal materials sold in the market may serve as an indicator of the conservation status of species in the region. These findings indicate that the Dragon Boat Festival herbal markets in the Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture fully embodies the characteristics of indigenous ethnomedicine and culture, and also exhibits the diversity of plant resources. We recommend that rare and endangered plants in this region be domesticated and protected.

Seven new acylated C-glycosylflavones, oreocharioside A-G, together with two known compounds were isolated from the whole plant of Oreocharis auricula. Their structures were characterized by the comprehensive analysis of their NMR, IR, UV, CD spectra and HRESIMS data. All the new compounds were evaluated for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The results showed that compounds 1 and 2 had significant DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, with the IC

The mixture of GX (guttiferone E and xanthochymol), an inseparable polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (PPAP), showed moderate cytotoxic activities. The chemical transformation of GX yielded three different types of PPAPs (1, 2, and 3/4). A series of analogs were prepared, and the structures of the 40 newly synthesized compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS. The derivatives were screened in vitro for antiproliferative activity against five human cancer cell lines: human leukemic cell lines (HEL and K562), cervical cancer cell line (Hela), human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7), and human non-small cell lung cancer cell line (A549), using the MTT assay, and most of the derivatives showed good cytotoxic activities. Noticeably, compound 2, a novel tautomer with a hemiketal, exhibited selective cytotoxic activities against HEL (IC50 = 4.79 ± 0.23 μM) and K562 (IC50 = 7.69 ± 0.34 μM) leukemia cells. The mechanism studies indicated that compound 2 induced apoptosis and arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase in the HEL cell line. Furthermore, compound 2 activated the intrinsic pathway by reducing the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and cell cycle-specific cyclin D1 and by enhancing the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. Moreover, the caspase-3 and PPRP1 levels were also upregulated. Our present results suggest that compound 2 is a potential candidate for developing novel anti-leukemia agents in the future.

Seven undescribed thermopsine-based alkaloids (1-7), including one undescribed biogenetically related intermediate (7), were isolated from the seeds of Thermopsis lanceolata R. Br. Compound 1 possessed a 6/6-6 tricyclic skeleton, while compounds 2-6 represented three rare dimerization patterns constructed by quinolizidine alkaloids. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis as well as ECD calculations. Biologically, compound 6 displayed significant anti-Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) activity compared with the positive control ningnanmycin. Moreover, compound 1 exhibited good insecticidal activity against Aphis fabae with LC

During the screening of natural anti-inflammatory agent, we identified some C21-steroidal pregnane sapogenins or the derivatives to inhibit TLR2, TLR3, and TLR4-initiatedinflammatory responses respectively. Treatment with active compounds 10, 2j and 3p failed to impact tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induced nucleus translocation of NF-κB p65 subunit. However, these compounds regulated distinct canonical or non-canonical NF-κB family members. Ectopic expression of TNF receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF6) abrogated the inhibitory activity of the compounds on production of pro-inflammatory cytokines downstream of TLR4. These results suggested that compounds 10, 2j, and 3p suppressed TLR-initiated innate immunity through TRAF6 with differential regulation of NF-κB family proteins.

Three new biphenyl derivatives ( 1 – 3 ), together with five known compounds, were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Garcinia multiflora . Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic techniques including NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. All eight isolates showed weak cytotoxicity on five human tumor cell lines. In addition, the three biphenyl derivatives showed moderate anti-oxidant activity with IC 50 values ranging from 7.78 to 8.78 μ M.

Four highly modified polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) with an unusual 6,5,5-tricyclic system, hypermogins A–D (1–4), together with one known analogue (5), were isolated from the flowers of Hypericum monogynum. From a possible biogenic synthesis pathway analysis, compounds 2 and 3 could be obtained by oxidation of a double bond and hydrolysis for 1 and 5. In addition, compound 3 might undergo a pinacol rearrangement to produce compound 4. The structures of the isolates were determined by comprehensive MS, NMR spectroscopy and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. All compounds significantly reversed multidrug resistance in MCF-7/ADR cells.

The antifungal activities of eleven C21-steroidal compounds isolated from Cynanchum wilfordii, together with thirty-six derivatives of caudatin and qingyangshengenin were evaluated on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and other five fungal strains by the mycelium growth rate method. Four derivatives 1k, 1y, 10d, and 10j exhibited much stronger inhibitions on growth of S. sclerotiorum with IC50 values of 0.0084, 0.0049, 0.0053, and 0.0034 μM, respectively.

A new acorane sesquiterpene (1), together with fourteen known compounds were isolated from the whole plant of Lysionotus pauciflorus Maxim. The chemical structures of the compounds were identified by physio-chemical properties and 1D-NMR, 2D-NMR, ESI-MS, IR and ECD spectra. Among them, six compounds (1, 4, 6, 7, 13, 15) were first found in the genus Lysionotus. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds in the genus Lysionotus and family Gesneriaceae were discussed.

A new adduct of iriflophene and flavonoid, 1, 8, 10, 10b-tetrahydroxy-3-methoxy-5a-(3,4-dihydr- oxyphenyl)-9-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)-5a,10b-dihydro-11H-benzofuro[2,3-b]chromen-11-one (1), together with six known compounds were isolated from the EtOH extract from Sedum aizoon L. Their chemical structures were elucidated by analyses of spectral data. The chemotaxonomic analysis of the compounds was discussed, compounds 1–4 provide important chemotaxonomic markers for S. aizoon.

Twenty-one compounds, including four monoterpenoids (1–4) (two new natural products, 1 and 2), four sesquiterpenes (5–8), two iridoids (9 and 10), four steroids (11–14), five phenolic compounds (15–19), and two alkaloids (20 and 21), were isolated from the roots of Valeriana officinalis L. var. Iatifolia Miq. Their chemical structures were established by spectroscopic methods and further confirmed by comparison with published data in the literature. Among them, eight compounds (1, 2, 6–8, 13, 18, and 21) are being reported from the family Valerianaceae for the first time, and compounds 9–12 were obtained from V. officinalis for the first time. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds is discussed.

A phytochemical investigation of the leaves and twigs of Garcinia multiflora Champion ex Bentham led to the isolation of eleven phenolic derivatives, including a new polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (PPAP, 1), five known PPAPs (2–6), three xanthones (7–9), a benzophenone (10), and a methyl phenyl acetate derivative (11). Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HR-ESI-MS and NMR. Five compounds (1, 2, 4, 5, and 11) were first found in the genus Garcinia, of which compounds 1 and 11 were reported from the family Guttiferae for the first time. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds was discussed. Furthermore, six PPAPs showed good cytotoxicities with IC50 values ranging from 1.79 to 9.40 μM.

Fifteen new seco -pregnane steroidal glycosides cynanosides A–O ( 1 – 15 ) together with twenty-seven known ones were isolated from the roots of Cynanchum atratum . The structures of 1 – 15 were determined by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data. The anti-tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) activity of these steroidal glycosides was screened by the conventional half-leaf method, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot methods, most of them showed potent anti-TMV activity. Among them, compounds 1 , 7 , 13 , 28 and 31 showed significantly anti-TMV activity with an IC 50 value of 20.5, 18.6, 22.0, 19.2 and 22.2 μg/mL, respectively, and were much more effective than the positive control, ningnanmycin (IC 50 = 49.6 μg/mL).

The halogenated and oxidized derivatives (1a-1e, 1a'-1c', 2a-2d, 2a'-2b', 3a-3e, 3' and 3a'-3b') of schizandrin (1), schizandrin B (2) and schisanhenol (3) were synthesized. The hepatoprotective effects of these dibenzocyclooctadiene lignan analogues against CCl4-induced injury were preliminarily evaluated. Most of the analogues exhibited higher protective effects than the positive control biphenyldicarboxylate (DDB). Among these active analogues, dichloroschisanhenol (3a) exhibited the strongest protective activity (cell survival rate exceeding 98.0%).