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An ethanol extract of Helichrysum maracandicum showed antiproliferative activity against cultured cells of SENCAR mouse in an in vitro assay, and activity-guided fractionation of the extract resulted in the isolation of isosalipurposide as an active substance. Naringenin chalcone, the aglycone of isosalipurposide, also showed strong antiproliferative activity. An in vivo assay of two-stage carcinogenesis on mouse skin revealed that epidermal application of isosalipurposide resulted in delayed formation of papillomas. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was suppressed by the administration of naringenin chalcone or isosalipurposide, which might be related to the anticarcinogenic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-eight samples of mericarps of Perilla frutescens var. frutescens were collected through fieldwork performed in Phongsali and Xieng Khouang provinces in northern Laos. No perilla samples were collected from Savannakhet province in the south although more than 20 sites were investigated. Perilla plants are mostly grown mixed with dry-paddy rice by slash-and-burn cultivation in Laos. The most popular local name for perilla mericarps in the area was “Ma Nga Chan”. Weight of 1,000 grains and hardness of the mericarps were measured, and all mericarps were found to be large (weight of 1,000 grains around 2 g) and soft (limit load weight under 300 g), which were preferred for culinary use in Laos. The composition of the essential oils obtained from the herbaceous plants raised from the mericarps was divided into five types, perillaketone, elemicine plus myristicine, shisofuran, piperitenon, and myristicine, and GC–MS analysis of these Laotian perilla samples showed that they were similar to those of corresponding types of known Japanese perilla strains. One of the shisofuran-type perilla contained large amounts of putative α-naginatene, which is likely to be an intermediate of the biosynthesis of naginataketone. The farmers' indifference to the oil type of the leaf seems to leave Laotian perilla as a good genetic resource for studies of the biosynthesis of oil compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood oil and spikenard extract were examined for their sedative activity using a spontaneous vapor administration system. It was shown that inhalation of agarwood oil vapor sedated mice. The main volatile constituents of the oil were found to be benzylacetone [agarwood oil from a Hong Kong market (1)], or α-gurjunene and (+)-calarene [agarwood oil made in Vietnam (2)]. A hexane extract of spikenard contained a lot of calarene, and its vapor inhalation had a sedative effect on mice. Individual principles benzylacetone, calarene, and α-gurjunene were administered to mice, which reproduced the result of the corresponding oil or extract. However, the most effective dose of the compounds was lower than their original content in the oil and extract (benzylacetone 0.1%, calarene 0.17%, α-gurjunene 1.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new phenolic glucoside was isolated from the aerial parts of Origanum tyttanthum, an Uzbek medicinal plant, together with 12 known compounds. The structure of the new compound was elucidated as 4- O-β- d-glucopyranosylbenzyl-3′-hydroxyl-4′-methoxybenzoate ( 1) based on the spectral and chemical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Sairei-to (TJ-114) is a Japanese herbal medicine of standardized quality, originating from traditional Chinese medicine. In the present in vivo study, we investigated the suppressive effects of TJ-114, Shosaiko-to (TJ-9), and Saiboku-to (TJ-96) on mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN) in rats. We evaluated the efficacy of these drugs on proteinuria, mesangial cell proliferation, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Methods. MsPGN was induced in Wistar rats by intravenous injection of rabbit anti-rat thymocyte serum (ATS). TJ-114, TJ-9, or TJ-96 (500mg/kg per day) was orally ad- ministered to the rats in drinking water from the day of ATS injection (day 0) to day 8, when rats were killed and kidney specimens were collected. The degree of mesangial cell proliferation was evaluated by immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) or macrophage antigen (ED-1). SOD activity in the homogenate of the renal cortex was also evaluated. Results. The amount of urinary albumin was significantly decreased only in the TJ-114-treated group compared with the disease control group (P < 0.05). The number of PCNA- or ED-1-positive cells was significantly decreased in all the treatment groups (P < 0.05, respectively, compared with the disease control group). SOD activity in the renal cortex homogenate was significantly augmented in all the treatment groups, most markedly in the TJ-96- and TJ-114- treated groups (P < 0.01, respectively, compared with the disease control group). Conclusions. These results suggest that TJ-114 suppresses the proliferation of mesangial cells through its antioxidative activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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From the aerial parts of Perovskia scrophularifolia, a traditional medicinal plant in Uzbekistan, 11 known compounds, including 4 abietane-type diterpenoids, 1 flavone and 6 glycosides, were isolated and identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]