Dehydrodieugenols from Nectandra polita

The wood of Nectandra polita contains sitosterol, O-methyleugenol, eugenol, dehydrodieugenol, O-methyldehydrodieugenol and di-O-methyldehydrodieugenol, whose isolation from a natural source is reported here for the first time.     

Neolignans from Ocotea aciphylla

The trunk wood of the central Brazilian Ocotea aciphylla contains two hydrobenzofuranoid and three bicyclo[3.2.1]octanoid neolignans. The former comprise a novel representative of the rare ferrearin (3a-allyl-2-aryl-7a-hydroxy-3-methyl-2,3,3a,4,7,7a-hexahydro-7-oxobenzofuran) type.     

A monoterpene alcohol from Laurus nobilis

Cis- and trans-thuj-2-en-4-ol have been identffied in the essential oil of Laurus nobilis, the former as a novel compound.     

Porosin: A neolignan from Ocotea porosa

The wood of Ocotea porosa (Nees) L. Barr. (Lauraceae) contains sitosterol, sesquiterpenes, n-octacosanoic acid, n-hexacosanoic acid and the neolignan porosin for which the structure of 3a-allyl-5-methoxy-3-methyl-2-veratryl-2,3,3a,6,7,7a-hexahydro-6-oxobenzofuran (II) is proposed.     

Three new species of Ocotea (Lauraceae) from southern Mexico

Three new species ofOcotea (O. disjuncta, O. iridescens, andO. rovirosae) from southern Mexico are described and illustrated.Ocotea disjuncta is related to theO. effusa group, whileO. iridescens seems to be related to theO. heydeana group. The relationships ofO. rovirosae are not clear.      

In vitro plantlet regeneration of Ocotea catharinensis,an endangered Brazilian hardwood forest tree

A successful system of somatic embryogenesis is described for the forest tree Ocotea catharinensis Mez., which used mature zygotic embryo explants cultured on a modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with activated charcoal, at 25°C in the dark. A medium composed of MS supplemented with 2% (w/v) sucrose, 0.3% (w/v) activated charcoal (AC), 362 M 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-d) and 0.8% (w/v) Technical Agar Grade III was used for multiplication of embryogenic cultures. Development up to the globular-stage was achieved using Lloyd and McCown woody plant medium (WPM) with 2.0% sucrose, 0.3% AC, 181 M 2,4-d and 0.8% Technical Agar Grade III. Significant effects of media pH on differentiation of early pro-embryogenic Ocotea cell aggregates were found. Low pH of media (ca. 3–4) appeared to prevent differentiation of proembryogenic cell aggregates whereas higher pH levels (ca. 5–5.5) favoured the formation of globular structures. Once globular structures formed, they developed further to form cotyledonary somatic embryos, under the same set of culture conditions. Successful conversion of these somatic embryos to plantlets was achieved after culture on a medium composed of 1/2-strength WPM (minerals only) with 2% sucrose, 0.3% AC, 0.8% Technical Agar Grade III and 90.5 M 2,4-d, followed by transfer to a medium composed of 1/2-strength WPM (minerals only) with 2% sucrose, 0.8% Technical Agar Grade III and 0.905 M 2,4-d and 1.4 M gibberellic acid, in a 16-h photoperiod regime.     

Methoxystyrenes from the genus Zieria

A new group of aromatic ethers has been isolated from the essential oils of several Zieria species. ¹H NMR and MS have indicated trimethoxy-, t     

Inhibitory effect of Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm. and Piper aduncum L. essential oils from Ecuador on West Nile virus infection

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus responsible of neuroinvasive manifestations. Natural products are well-known for their biological activities and pharmaceutical application. In this study, the inhibitory effects of essential oils (EOs) of Ocotea quixos (Lam.) Kosterm. and Piper aduncum L. on WNV replication were investigated. WNV was incubated with EOs before adsorption on Vero cells, viral replication was carried out in the absence or presence of EO. Cells were exposed to EO before the adsorption of untreated-virus. GC-MS and GC-FID were used for chemical characterization of EOs. Cell protection from infection was observed for both EOs. P. aduncum EO was characterized by dillapiole as main compound (48.21%) and O. quixos EO by 1,8-cineole (39.15%). Further investigations, such as the study of molecular and cellular mechanisms of action and in vivo evaluation, should be performed on these essential oils to derive new potential drugs against WNV.     

Mating system dynamics of Ocotea tenera (Lauraceae), a gynodioecious tropical tree

Progeny arrays of Ocotea tenera (Lauraceae), a gynodioecious tree endemic to Costa Rica, were electrophoretically surveyed for allozyme variation to estimate the outcrossing rate in the overall population and to test for differences in outcrossing rates between hermaphroditic and female trees. Multilocus outcrossing rate estimates across 3 yr indicated O. tenera predominantly outcrosses. However, significant heterogeneity in single-locus outcrossing rates was found among loci. Two loci (Fe1, Fe2) gave high outcrossing estimates, and a third locus (Gdh) gave much lower outcrossing estimates. Heterogeneity in Gdh pollen allele frequencies, consanguineous matings, and selection against homozygous zygote genotypes at the Fe1 and Fe2 loci are factors contributing to the discrepancy in outcrossing rate estimates among loci. There were no differences in the mating systems of hermaphroditic and female trees, which suggests that factors beyond prevention of self-fertilization may have also promoted the evolution of gynodioecy in O. tenera.     

Neolignans from Licaria rigida

Trunk wood of Licaria rigida contains the neolignans eusiderin, eusiderin-B, canellin-A and canellin-C.     

Sesquiterpenes from Artemisia princeps

Copaene, cyperene, caryophyllene, β-farnesene, α-himachalene, γ-humulene and farnesyl acetate were isolated from the root of Artemisia princeps. As a result of isomerization studies on γ-humulene, the main constituent, a preferred conformation was proposed.     

窄叶火筒树叶挥发油的化学成分分析

火筒树属（Leea L．）全世界约有70种,主产亚洲热带地区,中国分布有6种。火筒树属植物除了是很好的园艺和观赏植物外,许多种类可作药用,具有活血散瘀、愈溃生肌、清热解毒等功效,可用于治疗感冒发热、风湿痹痛、疮疡肿毒、咀嚼痛、跌打损伤、乳房肿痛、毒蛇咬伤,黄疸性肝炎等疾病。国内外对火筒树属植物的药理活性,特别是有关化学成分的研究报道很少。     

Neolignans from Aniba terminalis

A benzene extract of the trunk wood of Aniba terminalis (Lauraceae) contained besides benzyl benzoate, benzyl salicylate, d,1-camphor and sitosterol, (2S,3S,3aR)- and (2R,3S,3aS)-3a-allyl-5-methoxy-3-methyl-2-piperonyl-2,3,3a,6-tetrahydro-6-oxobenzofurans, which may be responsible, through sequential rearrangements of the Cope, retro-Claisen and Claisen types, and finally dehydrogenation, for the formation of the co-occurring (2S,3S,5S)- and (2R,3S,5R)-5-allyl-5-methoxy-3-methyl-2-piperonyl-2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-6-oxobenzofurans, the (2S,3S)-6-O-allyl-5-methoxy-3-methyl-2-piperonyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran, the (2S,3S)- and (2R,3S)-7-allyl-6-hydroxy-5-methoxy-3-methyl-2-piperonyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran and the 7-allyl-6-hydroxy-5-methoxy-3-methyl-2-piperonylbenzofuran.     

燕子掌挥发油化学成分的研究

应用气象色谱-质谱联用技术对燕子掌挥发油化学成分进行了分析研究,共鉴定出66种组分与燕子掌主要挥发性化学成分以苯乙醇、2,6,6-三甲基-2,4-环庚二烯-1-酮、6,10,14-三甲基十五烷-2-酮、十六烷酸甲酯、十六烷酸乙酯、十八烷酸甲酯为主要成分,化合物类型以酮、酯、类等化合物为主,其中十六烷酸甲酯的含量最高,占挥发油总量的26．13％。