Steroidal saponins from the aerial parts of Tribulus pentandrus Forssk

Seven new steroidal glycosides named pentandrosides A(1)-G(7) were isolated from the EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Tribulus pentandrus. Pentandrosides A(1)-E(5) possess cholestane aglycones, pentandroside F(6) a furostan-type aglycone and pentandroside G(7) an unusual acyloxypregnane aglycone probably derived from the degradation of a furostan skeleton. Structure elucidation of 1-7 was accomplished through the extensive use of 1D- and 2D NMR experiments including 1H-1H (DQF-COSY, 1D-TOCSY) and 1H-13C (HSQC, HMBC) spectroscopy along with ESIMS and HRESIMS.     

Triterpene glycosides from Astragalus icmadophilus

Six cycloartane-type triterpene glycosides were isolated from Astragalus icmadophilus along with two known cycloartane-type glycosides, five known oleanane-type triterpene glycosides and one known flavonol glycoside. The structures of the six compounds were established as 3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-3-acetoxy-α-L-arabinopyranosyl]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3β,6α,16β,24(S),25-pentahydroxycycloartane, 3-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3β,6α,16β,24(S),25-pentahydroxy cycloartane, 3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-3,4-diacetoxy-α-L-arabinopyranosyl]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3β,6α,16β,24(S),25-pentahydroxycycloartane, 3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-3-acetoxy-α-L-arabinopyranosyl]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3β,6α,16β,25-tetrahydroxy-20(R),24(S)-epoxycycloartane, 3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3β,6α,16β,24α-tetrahydroxy-20(R),25-epoxycycloartane, 3-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-3β,6α,16β,24α-tetrahydroxy-20(R),25-epoxycycloartane by the extensive use of 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments along with ESIMS and HRMS analysis.The first four compounds are cyclocanthogenin and cycloastragenol glycosides, whereas the last two are based on cyclocephalogenin as aglycone, more unusual in the plant kingdom, so far reported only from Astragalus spp.     

Triterpene glycosides from Agrostemma gracilis

Four triterpene saponins, agrostemmosides A–D were isolated from the methanol extract of Agrostemma gracilis. The structures of the compounds were determined as 3-O-β-d-xylopyranosyloleanolic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-β-d-xylopyranosyloleanolic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O-β-d-xylopyranosylechinocystic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester, 3-O-β-d-xylopyranosylechinocystic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester by a combination of one- and two-dimensional NMR techniques, and mass spectrometry. To the best of our knowledge this is the first phytochemical report on A. gracilis, and echinocystic acid saponins were encountered for the first time in Caryophyllaceae family.     

Similar hypotensive responses to resistance exercise with and without blood flow restriction

Low intensity resistance exercise (RE) with blood flow restriction (BFR) has gained attention in the literature due to the beneficial effects on functional and morphological variables, similar to those observed during traditional RE without BFR, while the effects of BFR on post-exercise hypotension remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to compare the blood pressure (BP) response of trained normotensive individuals to RE with and without BFR. In this cross-over randomized trial, eight male subjects (23.8 ± 4 years, 74 ± 3 kg, 174 ± 4 cm) completed two exercise protocols: traditional RE (3 x 10 repetitions at 70% one-repetition maximum [1-RM]) and low intensity RE (3 x 15 repetitions at 20% 1-RM) with BFR. Blood pressure measurements were performed after 15 min of seated rest (0), immediately after and 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 40 min, 50 min and 60 min after the experimental sessions. Similar hypotensive effects for systolic BP (SBP) were observed for both protocols (P < 0.05) after exercise, with no differences between groups (P > 0.05) and no statistically significant difference for diastolic BP (P > 0.05). These results suggest that in normotensive trained individuals, both traditional RE and RE with BFR induce hypotension for SBP, which is important to prevent cardiovascular disturbances.     

Long-term treadmill exercise improves spatial memory of male APPswe/PS1dE9 mice by regulation of BDNF expression and microglia activation

Increasing evidence suggests that physical activity could delay or attenuate the symptoms of Alzheimer''s disease (AD). But the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. To investigate the effect of long-term treadmill exercise on the spatial memory of AD mice and the possible role of β-amyloid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and microglia in the effect, male APPswe/PS1dE9 AD mice aged 4 months were subjected to treadmill exercise for 5 months with 6 sessions per week and gradually increased load. A Morris water maze was used to evaluate the spatial memory. Expression levels of β-amyloid, BDNF and Iba-1 (a microglia marker) in brain tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry. Sedentary AD mice and wildtype C57BL/6J mice served as controls. The results showed that 5-month treadmill exercise significantly decreased the escape latencies (P < 0.01 on the 4th day) and improved the spatial memory of the AD mice in the water maze test. Meanwhile, treadmill exercise significantly increased the number of BDNF-positive cells and decreased the ratios of activated microglia in both the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus. However, treadmill exercise did not significantly alleviate the accumulation of β-amyloid in either the cerebral cortex or the hippocampus of the AD mice (P > 0.05). The study suggested that long-term treadmill exercise could improve the spatial memory of the male APPswe/PS1dE9 AD mice. The increase in BDNF-positive cells and decrease in activated microglia might underpin the beneficial effect.     

Giant DNA virus mimivirus encodes pathway for biosynthesis of unusual sugar 4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (Viosamine)

Mimivirus is one the largest DNA virus identified so far, infecting several Acanthamoeba species. Analysis of its genome revealed the presence of a nine-gene cluster containing genes potentially involved in glycan formation. All of these genes are co-expressed at late stages of infection, suggesting their role in the formation of the long fibers covering the viral surface. Among them, we identified the L136 gene as a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent sugar aminotransferase. This enzyme was shown to catalyze the formation of UDP-4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-D-glucose (UDP-viosamine) from UDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose, a key compound involved also in the biosynthesis of L-rhamnose. This finding further supports the hypothesis that Mimivirus encodes a glycosylation system that is completely independent of the amoebal host. Viosamine, together with rhamnose, (N-acetyl)glucosamine, and glucose, was found as a major component of the viral glycans. Most of the sugars were associated with the fibers, confirming a capsular-like nature of the viral surface. Phylogenetic analysis clearly indicated that L136 was not a recent acquisition from bacteria through horizontal gene transfer, but it was acquired very early during evolution. Implications for the origin of the glycosylation machinery in giant DNA virus are also discussed.     

NMR assignment of the absolute configuration of C-25 in furostanol steroidal saponins

The chemical shifts of the geminal proton resonances of H(2)-26 (δa and δb) are a widely used predictor of C-25 stereochemistry in furostanol steroidal saponins, being in general more resolved in 25S than 25R compounds. Unexpectedly, we found that application of this empirical rule in different solvents led to conflicting assignments of stereochemistry. An experimental survey revealed that, while the chemical shifts of H(2)-26 exhibit a dependence on C-25 configuration, it is less pronounced in methanol-d4 than pyridine-d5 solvent, and thus the general rule derived for pyridine-d5 fails when NMR spectra are acquired in methanol-d4. We propose a modified empirical method for the direct assignment of C-25 stereochemistry in furostanol saponins in methanol-d4 (Δ(ab)=0.45-0.48 ppm for 25S; Δ(ab)=0.33-0.35 ppm for 25R), and provide several detailed examples. In addition, the absolute configuration of compound 8, a steroidal saponin isolated in previous work from Ruscus colchicus, is corrected from 25R to 25S stereochemistry.