Identification of gibberellins from sugarcane plants

Five GAs, GA₁, GA₃, GA₁₉, GA₂₀, and GA₂₉, were identified in extracts from mature leaf and shoot apical meristem of flowering and non-flowering sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) by combined GC/MS. The presence of ABA was also confirmed.     

Pharicin A,a novel natural ent-kaurene diterpenoid,induces mitotic arrest and mitotic catastrophe of cancer cells by interfering with BubR1 function

In this study, we report the functional characterization of a new ent-kaurene diterpenoid termed pharicin A, which was originally isolated from Isodon xerophilus, a perennial shrub frequently used in Chinese folk medicine for tumor treatment. Pharicin A induces mitotic arrest in leukemia and solid tumor-derived cells identified by their morphology, DNA content, and mitotic marker analyses. Pharicin A-induced mitotic arrest is associated with unaligned chromosomes, aberrant BubR1 localization, and deregulated spindle checkpoint activation. Pharicin A directly binds to BubR1 in vitro, which is correlated with premature sister chromatid separation in vivo. Pharicin A also induces mitotic arrest in paclitaxel-resistant Jurkat and U2OS cells. Combined, our study strongly suggests that pharicin A represents a novel class of small molecule compounds capable of perturbing mitotic progression and initiating mitotic catastrophe, which merits further preclinical and clinical investigations for cancer drug development.     

Semiatrin,a neo-clerodane diterpenoid from Salvia semiatratha

From the aerial part of Salvia semiatratha, a known diterpenoid and a new neo-clerodane diterpenoid, semiatrin, were isolated. The structure of the new diterpenoid was established mainly by spectroscopic means.     

Lasianthin,a neo-clerodane diterpenoid from Salvia lasiantha

From the aerial part of Salvia lasiantha a neo-clerodane diterpenoid, lasianthin, was isolated. The structure of this compound was established by spectroscopic means and X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Pharicin A,a novel natural ent-kaurene diterpenoid,induces mitotic arrest and mitotic catastrophe of cancer cells by interfering with BubR1 function

In this study, we report the functional characterization of a new ent-kaurene diterpenoid termed pharicin A, which was originally isolated from Isodon, a perennial shrub frequently used in Chinese folk medicine for tumor treatment. Pharicin A induces mitotic arrest in leukemia and solid tumor-derived cells identified by their morphology, DNA content and mitotic marker analyses. Pharicin A-induced mitotic arrest is associated with unaligned chromosomes, aberrant BubR1 localization and deregulated spindle checkpoint activation. Pharicin A directly binds to BubR1 in vitro, which is correlated with premature sister chromatid separation in vivo. Pharicin A also induces mitotic arrest in paclitaxel-resistant Jurkat and U2OS cells. Combined, our study strongly suggests that pharicin A represents a novel class of small molecule compounds capable of perturbing mitotic progression and initiating mitotic catastrophe, which merits further preclinical and clinical investigations for cancer drug development.Key words: pharicin A, mitotic arrest, leukemia, tumor cells, spindle checkpoint     

Margotianin,a new diterpenoid from Margotia gummifera

From the roots and aerial parts of Margotia gummifera a new natural diterpenic methyl ester, margotianin, has been isolated. Its structure was established as methyl ent-7α-angeloxy-15α-acetoxy-atis-16-en-19-oate almost exclusively by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Teucretol,a neo-clerodane diterpenoid from Teucrium creticum

From the aerial parts of Teucrium creticum a new neo-clerodane diterpenoid, teucretol, has been isolated, together with the previously known diterpenoids 6,19- diacetylteumassilin, 19-acetylgnaphalin and teucjaponin B. The structure of teucretol, 6,19-diacetoxy-4α,18;15,16-diepoxy-neo-cleroda-13(16),14-diene-12ξ,20-diol, was established by chemical and spectroscopic means.     

2-Deoxychamaedroxide,a neo-clerodane diterpenoid from Teucrium divaricatum

A new neo-clerodane diterpenoid, 2-deoxychamaedroxide, has been isolated from the aerial parts of Teucrium divaricatum subsp. canescens. Also identified were the previously known diterpenoids teuflin, teucrin H₂, teuflidin, teucrins A, F and G, 6β-hydroxy-teuscordin, montanin D and dihydroteugin. The structure of 2-deoxychamaedroxide, (12S)-4β,6β; 15,16-diepoxy-neo-clerodane-13(16),14-diene-18,19; 20,12-diolide, was established mainly by spectroscopic means.     

Presence of endogenous ent-kaurene in a microsomal preparation from Cucurbita maxima L. Endosperm and implications for kinetic studies of ent-kaurene oxidase

Microsomal and soluble cell-free extracts prepared from liquid endosperm of Cucurbita maxima L. were found to contain high concentrations of endogenous ent-kaurene and ent-kaurenol by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-chemical ionization with deuterated internal standards. Increases in the levels of ent-kaurenol, ent-kaurenoic acid, and ent-7-hydroxykaurenoic acid are correlated with a decline in the amount of endogenous ent-kaurene following a 10 min incubation of microsomes with NADPH and FAD. The rate of oxidation of radiolabeled ent-kaurene by the microsomal fraction was determined, and the need to account for endogenous substrate is shown. Endogenous ent-kaurene present in soluble extracts had the effect of diluting the [¹⁴C]ent-kaurene synthesized from [¹⁴C]mevalonic acid, resulting in reduced specific radioactivity of the product. The dilution of [¹⁴C]ent-kaurene was more pronounced in extracts with higher endogenous ent-kaurene levels or when the reactions were run in the presence of O₂ and NADPH. Evidence is presented that suggests differential metabolism of endogenous ent-kaurene and radiolabeled ent-kaurene in both microsomal and soluble extracts.Abbreviations Kaurene ent-kaur-16-ene - MVA mevalonic acid - kaurenol ent-kaur-16-en-19-ol - kaurenoic acid ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid - EtOAc ethyl acetate - MeOH methanol - GC-MS-CI gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-chemical ionization - 13-OH KA ent-13-hydroxykaur-16-en-19-oic acid - 7-OH kaurenoic acid ent-7-hydroxykaur-16-en-19-oic acid - kaurenal ent-kaur-16-en-19-al - Me(x) methyl ester of x - TMS(x) trimethylsilyl ether or ester of x - GA(x) gibberellin A(x)     

Peucelinendiol,a new acyclic diterpenoid from Peucedanum oreoselinum

A new diterpenoid has been isolated from roots of Peucedanum oreoselinum. Mainly by spectroscopic methods, its structure is shown to be (+)-(E)-7-hydroxymethyl-2,6,10,14-tetramethyl-2,9,13-pentadecatrien-6-ol, yet without specification of stereochemistry at C-6 and C-7. Furthermore the roots afforded a high yield of falcarindiol, (+)-(Z)-heptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyn-3,8-diol.     

Salviacoccin,a neo-clerodane diterpenoid from Salvia coccinea

A new neo-clerodane diterpenoid, salviacoccin, was isolated from the aerial part of Salvia coccinea. Its structure, 15,16-epoxy-10-hydroxy-neo-cleroda-2,7,13(16), 14-tetraene-17,12R:18,19-diolide, was established by chemical and spectroscopic means and by comparison with closely related compounds.     

Dihydroteugin,a neo-clerodane diterpenoid from Teucrium chamaedrys

From the aerial part of Teucrium chamaedrys a new neo-clerodane diterpenoid, dihydroteugin, has been isolated, besides the previously known diterpenoids teucrin A and teugin. The structure of dihydroteugin, (12S)-15,16-epoxy-2β,6β-dihydroxy-neo-cleroda-13(16), 14-diene-18,19:20,12-diolide, was established by chemical and spectroscopic means and by partial synthesis from teugin.     

Analysis of native gibberellins in the internode, nodes, leaves, and inflorescence of developing Avena plants

The native gibberellins (GAs) of various organs of the Avena plant were analyzed by bioassay and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after silicic acid partition column chromatography. The major GA of the inflorescence was identified as GA₃ by GC-MS, and this GA also forms the major component of the nodes, p-1 internode, and roots as determined by GLC or chromatography/bioassay. The inflorescence and nodes are the major sources of native GAs, the last two leaves, internode, and roots having significantly lower amounts of GA-like substances. In the internode, less polar GAs predominated at the lag stage of development, whereas by the log and plateau stages, the more polar GAs increased significantly.     

Potential anti-allergic ent-kaurene diterpenes from the bark of Suregada multiflora

Two ent-kaurene diterpenes, ent-16-kaurene-3beta,15beta,18-triol (1) and ent-3-oxo-16-kaurene-15beta,18-diol (2), were isolated from a dichloromethane extract of the bark of Suregada multiflora along with five known diterpenes:ent-16-kaurene-3beta,15beta-diol (3), abbeokutone (4), helioscopinolide A (5), helioscopinolide C (6) and helioscopinolide I (7). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1-7 possessed appreciable anti-allergic activities in RBL-2H3 cells model with IC50 values ranging from 22.5 to 42.2 microM.