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Two new lignans, namely 7-O-podophyllotoxinyl butyrate (1) and dihydroclusin 9-acetate (2), were isolated from the dichloromethane fraction of a methanol extract of Bursera microphylla (Burseraceae), along with eight known lignans (3-10). Their structures were determined by means of comprehensive spectroscopic analysis. Lignans 2-6 were tested for their anti-proliferative activity on the cancer cell lines LS180, A549 and HeLa, and on a non-cancer cell line, ARPE-19. Only compounds 4 and 5 showed an interesting activity on HeLa cells.

Bursera microphylla (BM), one of the common elephant trees, is widely distributed in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico. The Seri ethnic group in the Sonoran Desert uses BM as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller drug for the treatment of sore throat, herpes labialis, abscessed tooth, and wound healing. Dried stems and leaves of BM are used in a tea to relieve painful urination and to stimulate bronchial secretion. Furthermore, BM is used for fighting venereal diseases. To investigate the effects of the hexane fraction of resin methanol extract (BM-H) on cell growth, the acute myeloid cell line (OCI-AML3) was treated with 250, 25, or 2.5 µg/mL of BM-H. The first 2 concentrations were able to significantly decrease OCI-AML3 cell number. This reduced cell number was associated with decreased S-phase, blockade of the G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle, and increased cell death. Similar results were obtained on all tested tumor cell lines of different origins. We found that blockade of the cell cycle was due to upregulation of p21 protein in a p53-independent way. Increase of p21 was possibly due to upstream upregulation of p-ERK (which stabilizes p21 protein) and downregulation of p-38 (which promotes its degradation). Regarding cell death, activation of caspase-3, but not of caspase-8 or -9, was detectable after BM-H treatment. In conclusion, these data suggest that the BM's hexane fraction inhibited proliferation of cell lines mainly by a p21-dependent, p53-independent mechanism and promoted apoptosis through activation of caspase-3, but not caspase-8 or -9.

Bursera microphylla (BM), one of the common elephant trees, is widely distributed in the Sonoran desert in Mexico. The Seri ethnic group in the Sonoran desert uses BM as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller drug for the treatment of sore throat, herpes labialis, abscessed tooth, and wound healing. Dried stems and leaves of BM are used in a tea to relieve painful urination and to stimulate bronchial secretion. Furthermore, BM is used for fighting venereal diseases. To investigate the effects of the hexane fraction of resin methanol extract (BM-H) on cell growth, the acute myeloid cell line (OCI-AML3) was treated with 250, 25, or 2.5 µg/mL of BM-H. The first 2 concentrations were able to significantly decrease OCI-AML3 cell number. This reduced cell number was associated with decreased S-phase, blockade of G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle, and increased cell death. Similar results were obtained on all tested tumor cell lines of different origins. We found that blockade of the cell cycle was a result of upregulation of p21 protein in a p53-independent way. Increase of p21 was possibly a result of upstream upregulation of p-ERK (which stabilizes p21 protein) and downregulation of p-38 (which promotes its degradation). Regarding cell death, activation of caspase-3, but not of caspase-8 or -9, was detectable after BM-H treatment. In conclusion, these data suggest that BM-H inhibited proliferation of cell lines mainly by a p21-dependent, p53-independent mechanism and promoted apoptosis through activation of caspase-3 but not caspase-8 or -9.

Ethnopharmacology Relevance: The evaluation of the antimycobacterial activity of extracts of medicinal plants used by Mayos against tuberculosis and respiratory problems, allowed the identification of Rhynchosia precatoria (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) DC (Fabaceae) as the best candidate to find new antimycobacterial compounds., Aim of the Study: To isolate and characterize the compounds of R. precatoria responsible for the inhibitory and bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 700084. To determine antimycobacterial synergistic effect of pure compounds and their selectivity index towards Vero cells., Materials and Methods: A total of six flavonoids were purified by silica gel column chromatography. Structural elucidation of the isolated compounds was achieved by using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy techniques. The configuration at the C-3 chiral center was established by quantum mechanical calculation of the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectrum. In vitro inhibitory and bactericidal activity against M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis were determined with the redox indicator Alamar Blue (resazurin). Synergy was determined by X/Y quotient. Cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay., Results: The isolated compounds were identified as precatorin A (1), precatorin B (2), precatorin C (3), lupinifolin (4), cajanone (5) and lupinifolinol (6). Compounds 1-3 are new. Compounds 1 to 5 inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis (MIC ≥31.25µg/mL); compounds 1, 2, 4 and 5 killed the bacteria (MBC ≥31.25µg/mL) and also inhibited M. smegmatis (MIC ≥125µg/mL), while 1 and 4 also resulted bactericidal (MBC ≥125µg/mL). Compounds 4 and 5 presented synergistic effect (X/Y quotient value <0.5) at a concentration of 1/2 MIC of each compound in the combination. Cytotoxicity in murine macrophages (RAW 264.7 cells) gave IC 50 values of 13.3-46.98µM, for compounds 1-5., Conclusions: In this work we isolated two new isoflavanones (1 and 2), and one new isoflavone (3) with a weak antimycobacterial activity. The (3R) absolute configuration was assigned to 1 by computational analysis of its ECD spectrum and to 2 and 5 by similarity of their ECD spectra with that of 1. We are also reporting by first time, activity against virulent strain of M. tuberculosis for compounds 4 and 5 and their antimycobacterial synergistic effect., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Studies were made to increase the yield of piperine extraction using Naviglio Extractor® solid-liquid dynamic extractor (SLDE) from fruits of Piper longum. The effects of ratio w/v were investigated and optimised for the best method. The maximum yield of piperine (317.7 mg/g) from P. longum fruits was obtained in SLDE 1:50 ethanol extract. Extraction yields of piperine obtained from Soxhlet extraction, decotion (International Organization for Standardization) and conventional maceration extraction methods were found to be 233.7, 231.8 and 143.6 mg/g, respectively. The results of the present study indicated that Naviglio Extractor® is an effective technique for the extraction of piperine from long pepper.

A chemical study of the nonpolar fraction of a methanol-soluble extract of Bursera microphylla resin yielded a variety of di- and triterpenoids. In total, 15 compounds were isolated, of which three are new, namely, malabaricatrienone (1), malabaricatrienol (2), and microphyllanin (3). The antiproliferative activity of the major compounds was evaluated in different murine cancer cell lines (M12.C3.F6 and RAW264.7) and human cancer cells (A549, HeLa, and PC-3). The new compounds (1-3) did not show significant antiproliferative activity. The known compounds ariensin (4), burseran (5), and dihydroclusin diacetate (6) were effective against the RAW264.7 cell line, with IC50 values in the micromolar range.