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Chrysin, a well-known naturally occurring flavonoid having several biological effects including antiproliferative activity, was coupled with different pharmacophore structures. Coupling was carried out with spacers of different lengths and types. Structures selected for hybrid formation were amines, cyclic amino acid esters, and (hetero)aromatic compounds. In addition, vindoline, which is a Vinca alkaloid containing an indole skeleton, was also used. The alkylation of amines in the presence of carbonate base resulted in an interesting carbamate side product formation beside the expected amine. We also present the detailed structure elucidation of the carbamates. The in vitro anticancer activities of the synthesized derivatives were examined against 60 human tumor cell lines in National Cancer Institute (NCI, USA).

Abstract: An extended compound library of spiro[cycloalkane-pyridazinones] with a high Fsp3 character is targeted. There are two possibilities to improve the physicochemical parameters of a drug candidate molecules or building blocks, either to replace the aromatic systems with bioisoster heteroaromatic moieties, e.g. with one or two nitrogen containing ring systems (pyridines, pyridazines, pyrimidines, etc.), or to increase the Fsp3 character of the compounds. Using a new synthetic approach, the Grignard reaction of 2-oxaspiro[4.5]decane-1,3-dione and 2-oxaspiro[4.4]nonane-1,3-dione with p-halophenyl- or p-alkylphenyl-magnesium bromide resulted in the formation of the corresponding 2-oxoethyl-cycloalkanecarboxylic acids, which served as starting materials for the pyridazinones by reaction with hydrazine or phenylhydrazine. The pyridazinones obtained were alkylated with methyliodide or benzylbromide. 16 Novel 4-tolyl- or 4-halophenyl-2,3-diazaspiro[5.5]undec-3-en-1-one and 4-tolyl- or 4-halopyhenyl-7,8-diazaspiro[4.5]dec-8-en-6-one, and their N-methyl, N-benzyl, and N-phenyl derivatives were synthetized. The physicochemical parameters and the Fsp3 character of the novel compounds obtained were studied. A few of them showed excellent logP and clogP values, but the introduction of a further phenyl group seemed to be disadvantageous.

Introduction: Based on recently published randomized controlled trials, cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) seems to be an effective device-based therapeutic option in symptomatic chronic heart failure (HF) (CHF). The aim of the current study was to estimate what proportion of patients with CHF and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) Methods: Consecutive patients referred and followed up at our HF clinic due to HF with reduced or mid-range LVEF were retrospectively assessed. After a treatment optimization period of 3–6 months, the inclusion criteria of the FIX-HF-5C trial (New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV, 25% ≤ LVEF ≤45%, QRS Results: Of the 640 patients who were involved, the proportion of highly symptomatic patients in NYHA class III/IV decreased from 77.0% (n = 493) at baseline to 18.6% (n = 119) after the treatment optimization period (p < 0.001). Mean LVEF increased significantly from 29.0 ± 7.9% to 36.3 ± 9.9% (p < 0.001), while the proportion of patients with 25% ≤ LVEF ≤45% increased from 69.7% (n = 446) to 73.3% (n = 469) (p < 0.001). QRS duration was below 130 ms in 63.1% of patients, while 30.0% of patients had persistent or permanent atrial fibrillation. We found that the eligibility criteria for CCM therapy based on the FIX-HF-5C study were fulfilled for 23.0% (n = 147) of patients at baseline and 5.2% (n = 33) after treatment optimization. Conclusion: This single-center cohort study showed that 5% of patients with CHF and impaired LVEF immediately after treatment optimization fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the FIX-HF-5C study and would be candidates for CCM.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disease with increasing occurrence. Recent studies focus on the development of novel V1A receptor antagonists which can influence the core symptoms of autism through the AVP pathway. In this study, we describe the synthesis of new heterocyclic ring systems. These are a novel class of brain-penetrating V1A antagonists with improved metabolic stability and in vivo potency. The efficacy of the compounds was strongly influenced by the position of the chlorine atom, suggesting halogen bond formation between the ligands and the V1A receptor.

Background: owadays, in course of the drug design and discovery much attention is paid to the physicochemical parameters of a drug candidate, in addition to their biological activity. Disadvantageous physicochemical parameters can hinder the success of a drug candidate. Objective: Lovering et al. introduced the Fsp3 character as a measure of carbon bond saturation, which is related to the physicochemical paramethers of the drug. The pharmaceutical research focuses on the synthesis of compounds with high Fsp3 character. Methods: To improve the physicochemical properties (clogP, solubility, more advantageous ADME profile, etc.) of drug-candidate molecules one possibility is the replacement of all-carbon aromatic systems with bioisoster heteroaromatic moieties, e.g. with one or two nitrogen atom containing systems, such as pyridines and pyridazines, etc. The other option is to increase the Fsp3 character of the drug candidates. Both of these aspects were considered in the design the new spiro[cycloalkanepyridazinones], the synthesis of which is described in the present study. Results: Starting from 2-oxaspiro[4.5]decane-1,3-dione or 2-oxaspiro[4.4]nonane-1,3-dione, the corresponding ketocarboxylic acids were obtained by Friedel-Crafts reaction with anisole or veratrole. The ketocarboxylic acids were treated by hydrazine, methylhydrazine or phenylhydrazine to form the pyridazinone ring. N-Alkylation reaction of the pyridazinones resulted in the formation of further derivatives with high Fsp3 character. Conclusion: A small compound library was obtained incorporating compounds with high Fsp3 characters, which predicts advantageous physico-chemical parameters (LogP, ClogP and TPSA) for potential applications in medicinal chemistry.

The transition-metal complexes of phosphine and secondary phosphine oxide compounds can be used in various catalytic reactions. In this paper, the synthesis and characterization of eight new crown ethers containing trivalent phosphorus in their macroring are reported. These macrocycles are promising candidates as ligands for catalytic reactions.

The detailed mycochemical analysis of the

Vinca alkaloids are well-known microtubule targeting agents, which are used against some types of cancer. Vindoline is one of the monomeric Vinca alkaloids which does not have anti-tumor effect, although its derivatives have serious impact on the field of these indole alkaloids. Chrysin is a secondary plant metabolite, which has broad-spectrum biological activity, among others anticancer activity. Chrysin had shown synergic effect with several antiproliferative compounds (e. g., doxorubicin, cisplatin and ciglitazone), therefore, we attempted the synthesis of a novel vindoline-chrysin hybrid molecule. However, in the first case a diphenylamine structure was isolated. The mechanism of the unexpected reaction was studied, and then the originally targeted hybrid was synthesized by a reverse route coupling. A further hybrid was produced using a different site of the molecule. The antitumor activities were determined against 60 human tumor cell lines (NCI60), where the aimed hybrid showed low micromolar GI

Inonotus nidus-pici is a sterile conk which produces macrofungus, a neglected Central-Eastern European relative of the prized Inonotus obliquus, also known as chaga. Investigation of the methanol extract of the poroid fungus I. nidus-pici resulted in the isolation of citropremide (1), 3,4-dihydroxybenzalacetone (2) , lanosterol (3), ergost-6,8,22-trien-3β-ol (4), and ergosterol peroxide (5). The structures of fungal compounds were determined on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR and MS spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1–2 and 4–5 were evaluated for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties against several bacterial and fungal strains. 3,4-dihydroxybenzalacetone (2) and ergost-6,8,22-trien-3β-ol (4) demonstrated moderate antimicrobial activity, while the former possessed notable antioxidant activity in DPPH assay. The antiproliferative examinations performed on three human cancer (MES-SA, MES-SA/Dx5, A431) cell lines demonstrated that compounds 4 and 5 have notable cytotoxic activity with IC values in micromolar range. The current study represents the first report on the chemical profile of I. nidus-pici, providing a comprehensive study on the isolation and structure determination of bioactive secondary metabolites of this macrofungus.

10-Aminovindoline and 17-desacetylvindoline were coupled with 5α- dihydrotestosterone hemisuccinate and 19-nortestosterone hemisuccinate. As a result, four vindoline-steroid hybrids were synthesized via a succinate linker. One of the new hybrid compounds showed significant anticancer effect in vitro in the case of colon cancer and melanoma cell lines.

An important approach to the development of new antitumor agents is the synthesis of conjugates containing two or more structural units. Taking this into consideration, vindoline derivatives were coupled with triphenylphosphine, to afford the expected phosphonium salts. The new hybrid entities were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, and their anticancer activity was also evaluated.

The successful therapy of cancer is still unresolved. For that reason enormous efforts are being made to increase the effectiveness of anticancer drugs and reduce their side effects at leas...

Two unexpected and unusual vindoline trimers, a ketone and a methyl ether cation, were isolated from a reaction aimed at producing new, synthetically modified vinca alkaloids. The presence of several very similar molecular subunits in these products resulted in highly congested 1H and 13C NMR spectra, whereby their structure elucidation and proper spectroscopic characterization turned out to be a rather challenging task. To overcome this problem, non-uniform sampling was applied as a resolution enhancement tool on an 800 MHz NMR spectrometer. Our present description of how we accomplished both the structure determination and full NMR assignment of these molecules via the use of state-of-the-art NMR and MS techniques is not only paramount in proving their structure, but also exemplifies how—contrary to a common notion—difficult it can be to solve the structure of small molecules even with the aid of the latest NMR and MS methods.

Investigation of the methanol extract of the poroid fungus Fuscoporia torulosa resulted in the isolation of a novel triterpene, fuscoporic acid (1), together with inoscavin A and its previously undescribed Z isomer (2 and 3), 3,4-dihydroxy-benzaldehide (4), osmundacetone (5), senexdiolic acid (6), natalic acid (7), and ergosta-7,22-diene-3-one (8). The structures of fungal compounds were determined on the basis of NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses, as well as molecular modeling studies. Compounds 1, 6–8 were examined for their antibacterial properties on resistant clinical isolates, and cytotoxic activity on human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. Compound 8 was effective against Colo 205 (IC50 11.65 ± 1.67 µM), Colo 320 (IC50 8.43 ± 1.1 µM) and MRC-5 (IC50 7.92 ± 1.42 µM) cell lines. Potentially synergistic relationship was investigated between 8 and doxorubicin, which revealed a synergism between the examined compounds with a combination index (CI) at the 50% growth inhibition dose (ED50) of 0.521 ± 0.15. Several compounds (1 and 6–8) were tested for P-glycoprotein modulatory effect in Colo 320 resistant cancer cells, but none of the compounds proved to be effective in this assay. Fungal metabolites 2–5 were evaluated for their antioxidant activity using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and DPPH assays. Compounds 4 and 5 were found to have a considerable antioxidant effect with EC50 0.25 ± 0.01 (DPPH) and 12.20 ± 0.92 mmol TE/g (ORAC). The current article provides valuable information on both the chemical and pharmacological profiles of Fuscoporia torulosa, paving the way for future studies with this species.

In this paper, we present an additional, new cage-GABA compound, called 4-amino-1-(4′-dimethylaminoisopropoxy-5′,7′-dinitro-2′,3′-dihydro-indol-1-yl)-1-oxobutane-γ-aminobutyric acid (iDMPO-DNI-GABA), and currently, this compound is the only photoreagent, which can be applied for GABA uncaging without experimental compromises. By a systematic theoretical design and successful synthesis of several compounds, the best reagent exhibits a high two-photon efficiency within the 700–760 nm range with excellent pharmacological behavior, which proved to be suitable for a complex epileptic study. Quantum chemical design showed that the optimal length of the cationic side chain enhances the two-photon absorption by 1 order of magnitude due to the cooperating internal hydrogen bonding to the extra nitro group on the core. This feature increased solubility while suppressing membrane permeability. The efficiency was demonstrated in a systematic, wide range of in vitro single-cell neurophysiological experiments by electrophysiological as well as calcium imaging techniques. Scalable inhibitory ion currents were elicited by iDMPO-DNI-GABA with appropriate spatial–temporal precision, blocking both spontaneous and evoked cell activity with excellent efficiency. Additionally, to demonstrate its applicability in a real neurobiological study, we could smoothly and selectively modulate neuronal activities during artificial epileptic rhythms first time in a neural network of GCaMP6f transgenic mouse brain slices.

In this work, anchoring of cinchona derivatives to trifunctional cores (hub approach) was demonstrated to obtain size-enlarged organocatalysts. By modifying the cinchona skeleton in different positions, we prepared four C3-symmetric size-enlarged cinchona derivatives (hub-cinchonas), which were tested as organocatalysts and their catalytic activities were compared with the parent cinchona (hydroquinine) catalyst. We showed that in the hydroxyalkylation reaction of indole, hydroquinine provides good enantioselectivities (up to 73% ee), while the four new size-enlarged derivatives resulted in significantly lower values (up to 29% ee) in this reaction. Anchoring cinchonas to trifunctional cores was found to facilitate nanofiltration-supported catalyst recovery using the PolarClean alternative solvent. The C3-symmetric size-enlarged organocatalysts were completely rejected by all the applied membranes, whereas the separation of hydroquinine was found to be insufficient when using organic solvent nanofiltration. Furthermore, the asymmetric catalysis was successfully demonstrated in the case of the Michael reaction of 1,3-diketones and trans-β-nitrostyrene using Hub3-cinchona (up to 96% ee) as a result of the positive effect of the C3-symmetric structure using a bulkier substrate. This equates to an increased selectivity of the catalyst in comparison to hydroquinine in the latter Michael reaction.

Gamma-ray radiation is a unique way to induce chemical transformations of bioactive compounds. In the present study, we pursued this approach to the diversity-oriented synthesis of analogs of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), an abundant ecdysteroid with a range of beneficial, non-hormonal bioactivities in mammals including humans. Gamma irradiations of aqueous solutions of 20E were conducted either in N2- or N2O-saturated solutions. Centrifugal partition chromatography was used to fractionate crude resulting irradiated materials using a biphasic solvent system composed of tert-butyl alcohol - ethyl acetate - water (0.45:0.9:1, v/v/v) in ascending mode. Subsequently, the products were purified by RP-HPLC. Fourteen ecdysteroids, including five new compounds, were isolated, and their structure were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR and HRMS. Compounds 2-4, 7, 9, 12 and 15 were tested for their capacity to increase the Akt- and AMPK-phosphorylation of C2C12 murine skeletal myotubes in vitro. The compounds were similarly active on Akt as their parent compound. Stachysterone B (7) and a new ring-rearranged compound (12) were more potent than 20E in activating AMPK, indicating a stronger cytoprotective effect. Our results demonstrate the use of gamma irradiation in expanding the chemical diversity of ecdysteroids to obtain new, unusual bioactive metabolites.

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disease with increasing occurrence. Recent studies focus on the development of novel V

Background Recently published studies suggested that digoxin may increase mortality in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, in the vast majority of former trials serum digoxin concentration (SDC) was not measured and therapy was not SDC‐guided. Aim To assess the impact of SDC‐guided digoxin therapy on mortality in HFrEF patients. Methods Data of 580 HFrEF patients were retrospectively analyzed. In patients on digoxin, SDC was measured every 3 months and digoxin dosage was SDC‐guided (target SDC: 0.5‐0.9 ng/mL). All‐cause mortality of digoxin users and nonusers was compared after propensity score matching (PSM). Results After 7.1 ± 4.7 years follow‐up period (FUP) all‐cause mortality of digoxin users (n = 180) was significantly higher than nonusers (n = 297) (propensity‐adjusted HR = 1.430; 95% CI = 1.134‐1.804; P = .003). Patients having SDC of 0.9 to 1.1 ng/mL (n = 60) or > 1.1 ng/mL (n = 44) at any time during the FUP had an increased risk of all‐cause mortality (HR = 1.750; 95% CI = 1.257‐2.436, P = .001 and HR = 1.687; 95% CI = 1.153‐2.466, P = .007), while patients having a maximal SDC

The detailed chemical analysis of the methanol extract of Meripilus giganteus (Pers.) P. Karst. led to the isolation of two new cerebrosides, mericeramides A (1) and B (2) together with cerebroside B (3), ergosterol (4), 3&beta, hydroxyergosta-7,22-diene (5), cerevisterol (6), 3&beta, hydroxyergosta-6,8(14),22-triene (7), 3&beta, O-glucopyranosyl-5,8-epidioxyergosta-6,22-diene (8) and (11E,13E)-9,10-dihydroxy-11,13-octadecadienoic acid (9). The structures of the compounds were determined on the basis of NMR and MS spectroscopic analysis. Mericeramide A (1) is the first representative of halogenated natural cerebrosides. The isolated fungal metabolites 1&ndash, 9 were evaluated for their antioxidant activity using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. Compounds 2, 5 and 9 proved to possess considerable antioxidant effects, with 2.50 &plusmn, 0.29, 4.94 &plusmn, 0.37 and 4.27 &plusmn, 0.05 mmol TE/g values, respectively. The result obtained gives a notable addition to the chemical and bioactivity profile of M. giganteus, highlighting the possible contribution of this species to a versatile and balanced diet.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2) positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) have been implicated as potential pharmacotherapy for psychiatric conditions. Screening our corporate compound deck, we identified a benzotriazole fragment (4) that was rapidly optimized to a potent and metabolically stable early lead (16). The highly lipophilic character of 16, together with its limited solubility, permeability, and high protein binding, however, did not allow reaching of the proof of concept in vivo. Since further attempts on the optimization of druglike properties were unsuccessful, the original hit 4 has been revisited and was optimized following the principles of fragment based drug discovery (FBDD). Lacking structural information on the receptor-ligand complex, we implemented a group efficiency (GE) based strategy and identified a new fragment like lead (60) with more balanced profile. Significant improvement achieved on the druglike properties nominated the compound for in vivo proof of concept studies that revealed the chemotype being a promising PAM lead targeting mGluR2 receptors.

The freshwater cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii w as investigated for carotenoid composition. Besides β-carotene, echinenone and (9/9′ Z )-echinenone a carotenoid glycoside was found to be the main component. This compound was isolated and subsequently acetylated for structural elucidation. The acetyl derivative was fully characterized by UV–vis, ECD, NMR and HRMS techniques. The detailed 1 H and 13 C NMR chemical shift assignment of the major carotenoid supported the unequivocal identification of (2′ S )-2-hydroxymyxol 2′-α- l -fucoside.

The linkage between the central nervous system availability and neuropharmacological activity of the constituents of Ginkgo biloba L. extracts (GBE) is still incomplete. In this study, the in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability profile of the standardised GBE was investigated by the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA). Biomarkers, such as terpene trilactones, flavonoid aglycones and ginkgotoxin exerted moderate or good BBB-permeability potential (BBB+), while glycosides and biflavones were predicted as unable to pass the BBB. N-methyltyramine (NMT) and N,N-dimethyltyramine or hordenine (Hor) were identified among BBB+ compounds, while subsequent direct HRMS analysis revealed tyramine (Tyr) and N,N,N-trimethyltyramine or candicine (Can) in GBE as trace constituents. Distribution of Tyr, NMT, Hor and Can was determined by a validated ion-exchange mechanism-based liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method in G. biloba samples, such as herbal drugs and dietary supplements. The total content of the four tyramine derivatives in various GBEs ranged from 7.3 up to 6357μg/g dry extract with NMT and Hor as most abundant ones. Considering the pharmacological activities and the revealed fluctuation in the concentration of the analysed adrenergic protoalkaloids, the presented rapid LC-ESI-MS method is proposed for monitoring of the levels of Tyr, NMT, Hor and Can in G. biloba products.

Mycochemical study of the mushroom Gymnopus fusipes led to the discovery of two new cyclopeptides. The two compounds, named as gymnopeptides A and B, are unprecedented highly N-methylated cyclic octadecapeptides. Detailed spectroscopic studies, Marfey's analysis, and a preliminary molecular modeling study suggested that both are natural cyclic β hairpins. The isolated compounds exhibited striking antiproliferative activity on several human cancer cell lines, with nanomolar IC50 values.

2H-Dibenzo[c.e][1,2]oxaphosphorine 2-oxide (HDOPO), 2-(N,N-diethylamino)-dibenzo[c.e][1,2]oxaphosphorine 2-oxide (DEADOPO), and 2-ethoxy-dibenzo[c.e][1,2]oxaphosphorine 2-oxide (EtODOPO) are fully characterized in CDCl3 by 1H, 13C, 31P, and 15N NMR spectroscopy on 800- and 500-MHz instruments. A strategy enabling their unambiguous signal assignment is presented, with special emphasis on 2D 1H,13C HMBC spectra. Additional line-shape iterations of the aromatic 1H multiplets (ABCDX and ABCDEX spin systems) provided all long-range nJH,H and nJP,H coupling constants with utmost precision. The experimental results augmented with those of the model compound phenylphosphonous acid clearly demonstrate that nJH,H couplings of the PH proton as well as the nJP,C values do not decrease in a monotonic manner with the number of intervening bonds from the phosphorus atom. This fact may potentially lead signal misassignments, if the analysis starts out from the coupling constants, as it occurred for HDOPO in the recent publication by Wagner et al. (Phosphorus, Sulfur and Silicon, 187, 2012, 781–798). The corrected assignment will be given in the present paper. Finally, the A2M3X or ABM3X type 1H spectral patterns of ethyl groups are also analyzed and explicit equations are derived to evaluate the strongly coupled ABM3X multiplets in EtODOPO.

Hydroxycinnamic acids represent a versatile group of dietary plant antioxidants. Oxidation of methyl-p-coumarate (pcm) and methyl caffeate (cm) was previously found to yield potent antitumor metabolites. Here, we report the formation of potentially bioactive products of pcm and cm oxidized with peroxynitrite (ONOO&macr, ), a biologically relevant reactive nitrogen species (RNS), or with &alpha, &alpha, &prime, azodiisobutyramidine dihydrochloride (AAPH) as a chemical model for reactive oxygen species (ROS). A continuous flow system was developed to achieve reproducible in situ ONOO&macr, formation. Reaction mixtures were tested for their cytotoxic effect on HeLa, SiHa, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The reaction of pcm with ONOO&macr, produced two fragments, an o-nitrophenol derivative, and a new chlorinated compound. Bioactivity-guided isolation from the reaction mixture of cm with AAPH produced two dimerization products, including a dihydrobenzofuran lignan that exerted strong antitumor activity in vitro, and has potent in vivo antimetastatic activity which was previously reported. This compound was also detected from the reaction between cm and ONOO&macr, Our results demonstrate the ROS/RNS dependent formation of chemically stable metabolites, including a potent antitumor agent (5), from hydroxycinnamic acids. This suggests that diversity-oriented synthesis using ROS/RNS to obtain oxidized antioxidant metabolite mixtures may serve as a valid natural product-based drug discovery strategy.

Cancer cells generally possess higher levels of reactive oxygen species than normal cells, and this can serve as a possible therapeutic target. In this proof-of-concept study, an antioxidant-inspired drug discovery strategy was evaluated using a hydroxycinnamic acid derivative. The processing of oxidized mixtures of p-coumaric acid methyl ester (pcm) revealed a new antitumor lead, graviquinone. Graviquinone bypassed ABCB1-mediated resistance, induced DNA damage in lung carcinoma cells but exerted DNA protective activity in normal keratinocytes, and modulated DNA damage response in MCF-7 cells. The cytotoxic effect of pcm in MCF-7 cells was potentiated under H2O2-induced oxidative stress, and the formation of graviquinone was confirmed by Fenton's reaction on pcm. In silico DFT calculations suggested graviquinone as a kinetic product of pcm scavenging •OH radicals. Our results demonstrate the pharmacological value of an in situ-formed, oxidative stress-related metabolite of an antioxidant. This might be of particular importance for designing new strategies for antioxidant-based drug discovery.

Twelve compounds (1&ndash, 12) were isolated from the methanol extract of brick cap mushroom (Hypholoma lateritium (Schaeff.) P. Kumm.). The structures of the compounds were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analyses, including NMR and MS measurements. Lanosta-7,9(11)-diene-12&beta, 21&alpha, epoxy-2&alpha, 3&beta, 24&beta, 25-tetraol (1) and 8-hydroxy-13-oxo-9E,11E-octa-decadienoic acid (2) were identified as new natural products, together with ten known compounds, from which 3&beta, hydroxyergosta-7,22-diene (4), demethylincisterol A2 (5), cerevisterol (6), 3&beta, O-glucopyranosyl-5,8-epidioxyergosta-6,22-diene (7), fasciculol E (9), and uridine (12) were identified in this species for the first time. The isolated triterpenes (1, 3&ndash, 11) were investigated for their toxicity in vivo using bdelloid rotifer assays. Most of the examined steroids in general showed low toxicity, although the effects of the compounds varied in a wider range from the non-toxic lanosta-7,9(11)-diene-12&beta, 25-tetraol (1) to the significantly toxic cerevisterol (6), with substantial dependence in some cases on the presence of nutrient in the experimental environment.

Chrysin is a naturally occurring flavonoid with mild anticancer activity. In this paper we report the synthesis of new chrysin derivatives alkylated with N-phenylchloroacetamides in position 7. A novel method was developed for the preparation of 7-aminochrysin derivatives via the Smiles rearrangement, resulting in diphenylamine-type compounds. In silico studies of the Smiles rearrangement were performed. We also present the in vitro antiproliferative activity of the synthesized compounds against 60 human tumor cell lines (NCI60). The most potent derivative exhibited nanomolar antitumor activity on the MCF7 cell line of breast cancer (GI50 = 30 nM) and on the HCT-15 cell line of colon cancer (GI50 = 60 nM).

Our successful work for the synthesis of cyclopropanated vinblastine and its derivatives by the Simmons&ndash, Smith reaction was followed to build up further three-membered rings into the 14,15-position of the vindoline part of the dimer alkaloid. Halogenated 14,15-cyclopropanovindoline was prepared by reactions with iodoform and bromoform, respectively, in the presence of diethylzinc. Reactions of dichlorocarbene with vindoline resulted in the 10-formyl derivative. Unexpectedly, in the case of the dimer alkaloids vinblastine and vincristine, the rearranged products containing an oxirane ring in the catharanthine part were isolated from the reactions. The attempted epoxidation of vindoline and catharanthine also led to anomalous rearranged products. In the epoxidation reaction of vindoline, an o-quinonoid derivative was obtained, in the course of the epoxidation of catharanthine, a hydroxyindolenine type product and a spiro derivative formed by ring contraction reaction, were isolated. The coupling reaction of vindoline and the spiro derivative obtained in the epoxidation of catharanthine did not result in a bisindole alkaloid. Instead, two surprising vindoline trimers were discovered and characterized by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.