Intracellular distribution and origin of pentacyclic triterpenes in Calendula officinalis leaves

In Calendula officinalis leaves the cyclization of squalene to β-amyrin and its further oxidation to oleanolic acid as well as the biosynthesis of all derivatives of oleanolic acid 3-glucoside and some derivatives of oleanolic acid 3-glucuronoside occur in the microsomal fraction. The final metabolites of oleanolic acid 3-glucoside series i.e. pentaglycosides, are translocated from this fraction, one to the cell wall and plasmalemma fraction and the other to the cytosol. The derivatives of oleanolic acid 3-glucoronoside are synthesized partially in other fractions and accumulate in the different membraneous structures of the cell.     

Bioactive oleanolic acid saponins and other constituents from the roots of Viguiera decurrens

The bisdesmoside oleanolic acid saponin, 3-0-(methyl-beta-D-glucuronopyranosiduronoate)-28-0-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-oleanolate along with nine known compounds (two diterpenic acids, one chromene, three triterpenes, one steroidal glycoside, and two monodesmoside oleanolic acid saponins), were obtained from Viguiera decurrens roots. The chemical structure of the bisdesmoside oleanolic saponin was determined by chemical and NMR spectral evidence. A mixture of monodesmoside saponins displayed cytotoxic activity against P388 and COLON cell lines (ED50= 2.3 and 3.6 microg/ml, respectively). Two of the known compounds showed insecticidal activity against the Mexican bean beetle larvae (Epilachna varivestis).     

熊果酸衍生物的合成及其对肺癌细胞活性抑制的研究

目的：探讨合成的熊果酸衍生物对肺癌LTEP-α-2肿瘤细胞增殖的抑制作用。方法：熊果酸经氧化、肟化和腙化合成为3-氧代熊果酸、3-肟基熊果酸和3-（2＇,4＇-二硝基）-苯腙熊果酸。采用MTT法检测熊果酸及其衍生物对肺癌LTEP-α-2细胞的体外抗肿瘤活性。结果：熊果酸及其衍生物对肺癌LTEP-α-2细胞有抑制作用,且3-肟基熊果酸对肺癌LTEP-α-2细胞抑制作用高于其他化合物,其抑制率为90.0%,IC50为7.4μg/m L。结论：熊果酸衍生物3-肟基熊果酸抗肺癌LTEP-α-2肿瘤细胞活性高于熊果酸的活性。     

The metabolism of [3-H]oleanolic acid and its monoglycosides in cytoplasm and vacuole of protoplasts isolated from Calendula officinalis leaves

Isolated protoplasts from C. officinalis leaves were supplied with [3-³H]oleanolic acid, its 3-O-monoglucoside and 3-O-monoglucuronide. Transformations of these compounds into two series of oleanolic acid glycosides, i.e. glucosides (derivatives of 3-O-monoglucoside) and glucuronides (derivatives of 3-O-monoglucuronide) in the extravacuolar space and the vacuole were investigated. In the cytoplasm free oleanolic acid is glycosylated to both monoglycosides and to higher glycosides. Monoglycosides are partly hydrolysed to free oleanolic acid and partly glycosylated to higher derivatives. The vacuole contains the same radioactive compounds as the extravacuolar space. However, it seems most likely that these compounds are transported there from the sites of their synthesis in the cytoplasm.     

四川溲疏的化学成分研究(英文)

运用多种色谱技术从四川溲疏(Deutzia setchuenensis Franch)全草的95%乙醇提取物中首次分离到9个化合物。通过波谱方法和与已知品对照的手段将它们鉴定为:β-谷甾醇(1)、白桦酯醇(2)、hydrangetin(3)、齐墩果酸(4)、肉桂酸(5)、齐墩果酸-3-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖醛酸苷(6)、β-胡萝卜苷(7)、齐墩果酸-3-O-(β-D-吡喃葡萄糖醛酸-6-正丁酯)(8)和齐墩果酸-3-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖醛酸-28-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷(9)。     

The effect of pH and ATP on the transport of oleanolic acid monoglycosides into isolated vacuoles of Calendula officialis leaves.

The transport of oleanolic acid and its glycosides (3-O-monoglucuronide F and 3-O-monoglucoside I) into the vacuoles of C. officinalis leaves was studied. It was found that these monoglycosides are transported into the vacuolar space whereas free oleanolic acid only binds with the tonoplast. The transport of monoglycosides depends on pH of the medium, the optimum pH for monoglucoside I and monoglucuronide F being 6.0 and 7.0, respectively. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the transport of monoglucoside I, in contrast to that of monoglucuronide F, depends on ATP at 0.5-2.0 mM concentrations. The presented results indicate that different mechanisms underlie the transport of these two compounds into vacuoles.     

Synthesis and preliminary evaluation of new ursolic and oleanolic acids derivatives as antileishmanial agents

A series of new ursolic and oleanolic acids derivatives was synthesized via ursolic or oleanolic acids, previously extracted from South American Ilex species. These new compounds were tested for in vitro antiparasitic activity on Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania infantum strains. Some of these compounds showed activity against the promastigote forms of L. amazonensis or L. infantum, with IC(50) ranging from 5 to 12 microM. As expected, most of the compounds showed a significant level of cytotoxicity against monocytes (IC(50) = 2-50 microM). From a structure-activity relationships point of view, these pharmacological results enlightened mainly the importance of an acetylation at position 3 of the oleanolic acid skeleton in the activity against the L. amazonensis strain, and of a bis-(3-aminopropyl)piperazine moiety on the carboxylic function of ursolic acid against the L. infantum strain.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of nitric oxide-releasing derivatives of oleanolic acid as inhibitors of HepG2 cell apoptosis

A total of 106 nitric oxide-releasing derivatives of oleanolic acid were synthesized and their effects on the inhibition of anti-Fas-mediated HepG2 cell apoptosis were evaluated in vitro. Several compounds inhibited anti-Fas-mediated HepG2 cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Within this series of compounds, 8b is the most potent inhibitor. The development of new NO-releasing derivatives of oleanolic acid may aid in the design of NO-based medicines for the intervention of human liver inflammatory diseases.     

Gastroprotective and ulcer-healing activity of oleanolic acid derivatives: in vitro-in vivo relationships

The triterpene oleanolic acid 1 and its semisynthetic derivatives 2-7 were assessed for gastroprotective and ulcer-healing effect using human epithelial gastric cells (AGS) and human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5). The ability of the compounds to protect the AGS cells against the damage induced by sodium taurocholate (NaT), to stimulate the cellular reduced glutathione (GSH) and prostaglandin E(2) content, to enhance AGS and MRC-5 cell proliferation and to scavenge superoxide anion in vitro was studied. The cytotoxicity of the compounds was assessed towards MRC-5 and AGS cells. In addition, the gastroprotective activity of the compounds was assessed in vivo using the HCl/EtOH-induced ulcer model in mice. All the assayed compounds displayed a significant reduction of AGS cells damage after incubation with NaT. None of the studied compounds was active as a superoxide anion scavenger nor stimulated the GSH content in AGS cell cultures. Compounds 1, 2, 4 and 6 were able to increase the prostaglandin content in AGS cell cultures. Concerning the proliferation assays, a significant stimulating effect was observed for compounds 3 and 7 on AGS cells and for 1 and 7 on MRC-5 fibroblasts. Regarding cytotoxicity, derivatives 2, 4, 6 and 7 were less toxic than the parent compound oleanolic acid. Our results strongly support the predictive capacity of the in vitro assessment of gastroprotective activity allowing the reduction of experimental animals.     

Glycosides from Roots of Cyathula officinalis Kuan

Abstract: To search for new and bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese medicines, a new glycoside, 3-O-[α- L -rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-( n -butyl-β- D -glucopyranosiduronate)]-28-O-β- D -glucopyranosyloleanolic acid ( 1 ), was isolated from the roots of Cyathula officinalis Kuan, along with 3-O-(methyl-β- D -glucopyranosiduronate)-28-O-β- D -glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid ( 2 ), 3-O-β- D -glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid ( 3 ), 3-O-β- D -glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid ( 4 ), 3-O-[β- L -rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-(β- D -glucuronopyranosyl)] oleanolic acid ( 5 ), 3-O-(β- D -glucuronopyranosyl)-28-O-β- D -glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid ( 6 ), 28-O-β- D -glucuronopyranosyl-(1→4)-β- D -glucopyranosyl hederagenin ( 7 ), 3-O-[β- L -rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-β- D -glucuronopyranosyl]-28-O-β- D -glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid ( 8 ), and 3-O-[β- D -glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-α- L -rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-β- D -glucuronopyranosyl]-28-O-β- D -glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid ( 9 ). The structures of these compounds were determined based on spectral and chemical evidence. The 50 per cent growth-inhibiting (GI₅₀) of compounds 1 and 5 against MDA-MB-231 (a human breast cancer cell line) was 3.44 × 10^-4 and 4.66 × 10^-4 mol/L, respectively.
(Managing editor: Wei WANG)     

Structure-related inhibitory activity of oleanolic acid glycosides on gastric emptying in mice

We examined the effects of various oleanolic acid oligoglycosides obtained from traditional herbs on gastric emptying in non-nutrient meal- or nutrient meal-loaded mice. Test samples were given orally to fasted mice 0.5 h before loading of test meals. Oleanolic acid 3-O-monodesmosides [oleanolic acid 3-O-glucuronide (3, 12.5-50 mg/kg), momordin Ic (4, 25 and 50 mg/kg), momordin I (6, 12.5-50 mg/kg), and 28-O-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponins IV (8, 12.5-50 mg/kg) and V (10, 50 mg/kg)] were found to show inhibitory effects on gastric emptying in 1.5% CMC-Na test meal-loaded mice. 4, 6, and 8 also inhibited gastric emptying in mice given 40% glucose test meal, milk test meal, and 60% ethanol test meal. 3 inhibited gastric emptying in mice given milk test meal or 60% ethanol test meal, but lacked significant inhibition in 40% glucose test meal-loaded mice. 10 (50 mg/kg) also slightly inhibited gastric emptying in milk test meal-loaded mice, but lacked the significant inhibition in mice given 40% glucose or 60% ethanol test meal. Whereas oleanolic acid 3,28-0-bisdesmosides [momordin IIc (5), chikusetsusaponins IV (7) and V (9)], oleanolic acid 28-O-monodesmoside [compound O (2)], and their common aglycon [oleanolic acid (1)] showed no such effects at dose of 50 mg/kg. 28-O-Deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin V (10) showed a little inhibition in these experiments. These results indicate that both the 3-O-monodesmoside structure and 28-carboxyl group were confirmed to be essential for such activity, and the 28-ester glucoside moiety and 2'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside moiety reduce the activity.     

Antibacterial activity of triterpene acids and semi-synthetic derivatives against oral pathogens

Triterpene acids (ursolic, oleanoic, gypsogenic, and sumaresinolic acids) isolated from Miconia species, along with a mixture of ursolic and oleanolic acids and a mixture of maslinic and 2-a-hydroxyursolic acids, as well as ursolic acid derivatives were evaluated against the following microorganisms: Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Enterococcus faecalis, which are potentially responsible for the formation of dental caries in humans. The microdilution method was used for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) during the evaluation of the antibacterial activity. All the isolated compounds, mixtures, and semi-synthetic derivatives displayed activity against all the tested bacteria, showing that they are promising antiplaque and anticaries agents. Ursolic and oleanolic acids displayed the most intense antibacterial effect, with MIC values ranging from 30 microg/mL to 80 microg/mL. The MIC values of ursolic acid derivatives, as well as those obtained for the mixture of ursolic and oleanolic acids showed that these compounds do not have higher antibacterial activity when compared with the activity observed with either ursolic acid or oleanolic acid alone. With regard to the structure-activity relationship of triterpene acids and derivatives, it is suggested that both hydroxy and carboxy groups present in the triterpenes are important for their antibacterial activity against oral pathogens.     

Structure-dependent inhibition of bladder and pancreatic cancer cell growth by 2-substituted glycyrrhetinic and ursolic acid derivatives

Derivatives of oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid substituted with electron-withdrawing groups at the 2-position in the A-ring which also contains a 1-en-3-one structure are potent inhibitors of cancer cell growth. In this study, we have compared the effects of several 2-substituted analogs of triterpenoid acid methyl esters derived from ursolic and glycyrrhetinic acid on proliferation of KU7 and 253JB-V bladder and Panc-1 and Panc-28 pancreatic cancer cells. The results show that the 2-cyano and 2-trifluoromethyl derivatives were the most active compounds. The glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives with the rearranged C-ring containing the 9(11)-en-12-one structure were generally more active than the corresponding 12-en-11-one isomers. However, differences in growth inhibitory IC(50) values were highly variable and dependent on the 2-substituent (CN vs CF(3)) and cancer cell context.     

Induction of apoptosis in HeLa cells by 3beta-hydroxy-12-oleanen-27-oic acid from the rhizomes of Astilbe chinensis

3beta-Hydroxy-12-oleanen-27-oic acid (ATA) was an antitumor active oleanane-type triterpenoid from the rhizomes of Astilbe chinensis. ATA was structurally very similar to oleanolic acid, with the only difference being interchange of the carboxyl and methyl group at the C-14 and C-17 positions. Oleanane-type triterpene with a carboxyl group at C-14 is present in a limited number of natural resources. ATA was found to exhibit more distinctive cytotoxicity toward human cervical squamous carcinoma HeLa cells than oleanolic acid, which suggested that the position of the carboxyl group significantly affects the cytotoxicity of oleanane-type pentacyclic triterpenes with a carboxyl group. The biological mechanism responsible for the cytotoxicity of ATA is not yet well understood. In this study, we investigated the induction of apoptosis in HeLa cells by ATA and the putative pathways of its actions. ATA induced a marked concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of HeLa cell proliferation, and reduced the protein content in HeLa cells. ATA-treated HeLa displayed typical morphological apoptotic characteristics and formation of DNA ladders in agarose gel electrophoresis. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the HeLa cell cycle was arrested in the G(0)/G(1) phase by ATA, and the apoptotic rate of HeLa cells treated with ATA 20 microg/mL for 48 h was 22.63 +/- 1.65%. Meanwhile, ATA increased the expression of Bax, decreased the expression of Bcl-2, and lowered the DeltaPsi(m). DEVD-CHO 2 microM could increase the viability of ATA-treated HeLa cells. These results indicate that ATA could significantly induce cell apoptosis through down-regulating Bcl-2 expression, up-regulating Bax expression, lowering DeltaPsi(m), and activating the caspase-3 pathway, and should be useful in the search for new potential anti-tumor agents and for developing semisynthetic oleanane-type triterpene derivatives with anti-tumor activity.     

Triterpenoid saponins from Schefflera arboricola

Nine triterpenoid saponins were isolated from the leaves and stems of Schefflera arboricola. The saponins were characterised, on the basis of chemical and spectral evidence, as 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl] oleanolic acid, 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl] echinocystic acid, 3-O-[beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl] oleanolic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O-alpha-L-ramnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-[alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-->2)-] beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid, 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-[alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-->2)-] beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->2)-] beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid, 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->2)-] beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->4)-[alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-->2)-] beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid and 3-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->4)-[alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1-->2)-] beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester.     

野桂花化学成分研究

从野桂花（Osmanthus yunnanensis）地上部分95％乙醇提取物中首次分离得到18个化合物,应用波谱方法及与已知品对照的手段鉴定它们为：E-阿魏酸二十烷基酯（1）、β-谷甾醇（2）、羽扇豆醇（3）、齐墩果酸（4）、7-oxo-β—sitosterol（5）、乙酰齐墩果酸（6）、（6＇-O－palmitoyl）－sitosterol-3-O-β—D—glucoside（7）、rotundioic acid（8）、地榆糖甙II（9）、3β-hydroxy－27-p－（E）－eoumaroyloxyolean－12－en-28－oicacid（10）、3β—laydroxy-27-p－（Z）－coumaroyloxy－olean－12－en-28-oicacid（11）、hycandinic acid ester（12）、绿原酸丁酯（13）、4,5-二咖啡酰奎尼酸丁酯（14）、28-O-β-D—glueopyranosyl rottmdioic acid（16）以及三个半萜类化合物：4,5-dihydroxyprenyl caffeate（15）、4-（6-O-caffeoyl -β-D—glucopyranosyloxy）-5-hydroxyprenyl caffeate（17）、4-β-D—glucopyranosyloxy5-hydroxyprenyl caffeate（18）。     

反相高效液相色谱法测定不同产地紫苏子和白苏子中乌索酸和齐墩果酸

建立反相高效液相色谱（RP—HPLC）法测定了紫苏子和白苏子中乌索酸和齐墩果酸的含量。色谱柱为Kromasil C18柱（250mm×4．6mm,5um）,光电二极管阵列检测（PAD）,流动相甲醇一水体积比为87：13,检测波长210nm,流速0．8mL／min,柱温28℃。乌索酸在10～400ug／mL,齐墩果酸在5～200ug／mL内呈现良好的线性关系,平均加样回收率分别为100．6％和98．7％,相对标准偏差（RSD）分别为1．6％和1．2％。     

Rational design and synthesis of topoisomerase I and II inhibitors based on oleanolic acid moiety for new anti-cancer drugs

Semisynthetic reactions were conducted on oleanolic acid, a common plant-derived oleanane-type triterpene. Ten rationally designed derivatives of oleanolic acid were synthesized based on docking studies and tested for their topoisomerase I and IIα inhibitory activity. Semisynthetic reactions targeted C-3, C-12, C-13, and C-17. Nine of the synthesized compounds were identified as new compounds. The structures of these compounds were confirmed by spectroscopic methods (1D, 2D NMR and MS). Five oleanolic acid analogues (S2, S3, S5, S7 and S9) showed higher activity than camptothecin (CPT) in the topoisomerase I DNA relaxation assay. Four oleanolic acid analogues (S2, S3, S5 and S6) showed higher activity than etoposide in a topoisomerase II assay. The results indicated that the C12–C13 double bond of the oleanolic acid skeleton is important for the inhibitory activity against both types of topoisomerases, while insertion of a longer chain at either position 3 or 17 increases the activity against topoisomerases by various degrees. Some of the synthesized compounds act as dual inhibitors for both topoisomerase I and IIα.     

Synthesis and cytotoxicity evaluation of oleanolic acid derivatives

Twelve derivatives of oleanolic acid (1) have been synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activities against the growth of prostate PC3, breast MCF-7, lung A549, and gastric BGC-823 cancer cells by MTT assays. Within these series of derivatives, compound 17 exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity against PC3 cell line (IC₅₀ = 0.39 μM) and compound 28 displayed the best activity against A549 cell line (IC₅₀ = 0.22 μM). SAR analysis indicates that H-donor substitution at C-3 position of oleanolic acid may be advantageous for improvement of cytotoxicity against PC3, A549 and MCF-7 cell lines.     

Antimicrobial constituents of Thompson seedless raisins (Vitis vinifera) against selected oral pathogens

As a part of a project directed toward the discovery of oral antimicrobial compounds from plants, eight known compounds, oleanolic acid (1), oleanolic aldehyde (2), linoleic acid (3), linolenic acid (4), betulin (5), betulinic acid (6), 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural (7), and β-sitosterol were isolated from an hexane-soluble partition of a methanol extract of Thompson seedless raisins (Vitis vinifera). From an EtOAc-soluble partition rutin (8) and β-sitosterol glycoside were isolated. In an attempt to increase the resultant antimicrobial activity of oleanolic acid (1), a series of acylation and etherification reactions were performed on oleanolic acid to obtain derivatives 1a–1f. All the compounds isolated and the derivatives 1a–1f were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against two oral pathogens, Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis associated with caries and periodontal disease, respectively. Compounds 1, 2, 7 and 1f inhibited the growth of the test bacteria with concentrations ranging from 3.9 to 500 μg/mL. Derivative 1f showed greatly enhanced antimicrobial activity when compared with oleanolic acid (1).