Molecules, Volume 21, Issue 6

Polyketides are structurally and functionally diverse secondary metabolites that are biosynthesized by polyketide synthases (PKSs) using acyl-CoA precursors. Recent studies in the engineering and structural characterization of PKSs have facilitated t...

Natural product lingenol, a purified diterpenoid compound derived from the root of Euphorbia kansui, exerts serious hepatotoxicity; however, the molecular mechanisms remain to be defined. In the present study, cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), inverted ph...

Anthraquinone-2-carboxlic acid (9,10-dihydro-9,10-dioxo-2-anthracenecarboxylic acid, AQCA) was identified as one of the major anthraquinones in Brazilian taheebo. Since there was no report explaining its immunopharmacological actions, in this study,...

“Starkrimson” is a traditional apple cultivar that was developed a long time ago and was widely cultivated in the arid region of the northern Wei River of China. However, little information regarding the quality characteristics of “Starkrimson” fruit...

The chemical composition of volatile oils from 22 genotypes of Citrus and related genera was poorly differentiated, but chemometric techniques have clarified the relationships between the 22 genotypes, and allowed us to understand their resistance to...

Ultrahigh pressure (UHP) treatments are non-thermal processing methods that have customarily been employed to enhance the quality and productivity of plant consumables. We aimed to evaluate the effects of UHP treatments on ginseng samples (white gins...

The folate receptor (FR) is overexpressed in a wide variety of human tumors. In our study, the multimeric concept was used to synthesize a dimeric folate derivative via a click reaction. The novel folate derivative (HYNIC-D₁-FA₂) was radiolabeled wit...

Melandrii Herba (MH) is a traditional Asian medicinal herb used to treat breast cancer, anuria, and diseases of lactation. However, its biological properties and molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to in...

Aza-Michael reactions between primary aliphatic and aromatic amines and various Michael acceptors have been performed under environmentally-friendly solventless conditions using acidic alumina as a heterogeneous catalyst to selectively obtain the cor...

A series of novel 5-substituted 2-(arylmethylthio)-4-chloro-N-(5-aryl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl) benzenesulfonamide derivatives 27–60 have been synthesized by the reaction of aminoguanidines with an appropriate phenylglyoxal hydrate in glacial acetic acid....

Three new diterpenes, uprolide N (1), uprolide O (2), uprolide P (3) and a known one, dolabellane (4), were isolated from the CH₂Cl₂-MeOH extract of the gorgonian octocoral Eunicea succinea, collected from Bocas del Toro, on the Caribbean coast of Pa...

Natural products have always been exploited to promote health and served as a valuable source for the discovery of new drugs. In this review, the great potential of natural compounds and medicinal plants for the treatment or prevention of cardiovascu...

In this paper we present the convenient syntheses of six new guanylhydrazone and aminoguanidine tetrahydropyran derivatives 2–7. The guanylhydrazone 2, 3 and 4 were prepared in 100% yield, starting from corresponding aromatic ketones 8a–c and aminogu...

Five flavonoid glycosides and two derivatives were isolated from the herbs of Scorzonera austriaca Wild by silica gel column chromatography and preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified, using chemical and spectroscopic methods, as 5,7,4′-tr...

Capsaicinoids (CAP) are nitrogenous metabolites formed from valine (Val) and phenylalanine (Phe) in the placentas of hot Capsicum genotypes. Placentas of Habanero peppers can incorporate inorganic nitrogen into amino acids and have the ability to sec...

The four-step conversion of a series of N-Boc-protected l-amino acid methyl esters into enantiopure N-Boc allylamines by a modified Julia olefination is described. Key steps include the reaction of a lithiated phenylalkylsulfone with amino esters, gi...

A preceramic polymer of B,B′,B′′-(dimethyl)ethyl-acrylate-silyloxyethyl-borazine was synthesized by three steps from a molecular single-source precursor and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spect...

A series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives related to allopurinol has been synthesized and evaluated for its cytotoxicity against a panel of three cancer cell lines as well as its xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitory activities. Among them, compo...

The antioxidative, antibacterial, and food functional properties of the half-fin anchovy hydrolysates (HAHp)-glucose conjugates formed by Maillard reaction (MR) were investigated, respectively. Results of sugar and amino acid contents loss rates, bro...

Sixteen 1,4-diaryl-1,2,3-triazole compounds 4–19 derived from the tetrahydrofuran neolignans veraguensin 1, grandisin 2, and machilin G 3 were tested against Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis intracellular amastigotes. Triazole compounds 4–19 were...

Potentilla erecta (PE) is a small herbaceous plant with four yellow petals belonging to the Rosaceae family. The rhizome of PE has traditionally been used as an antidiarrheal, hemostatic and antihemorrhoidal remedy. PE contains up to 20% tannins and...

Developing an efficient immobilized enzyme is of great significance for improving the operational stability of enzymes in poly(ε-caprolactone) synthesis. In this paper, a thermophilic esterase AFEST from the archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus was succes...

The chemical study on the seeds of Caesalpinia sappan led to the isolation of five new cassane diterpenoids, phanginins R‒T (1–3) and caesalsappanins M and N (4 and 5), together with seven known compounds 6–12. Their structures were elucidated on the...

A library of thirty eight novel thiazolo[5,4-f]quinazolin-9(8H)-one derivatives (series 8, 10, 14 and 17) was prepared via the Hügershoff reaction and a Cu catalyzed intramolecular C-S bond formation, helped by microwave-assisted technology when requ...

Kinsenoside, the herb-derived medicine isolated from the plant Anoect chilus, has diverse pharmacological actions, and it is considered to be a promising antihyperlipidemic drug candidate. This study evaluates the effects of kinsenoside on CYP enzyme...

Axially chiral 5-methyl-2-(o-aryl)imino-3-(o-aryl)-thiazolidine-4-ones have been subjected to aldol reactions with benzaldehyde to produce secondary carbinols which have been found to be separable by HPLC on a chiral stationary phase. Based on the re...

Thymol is a natural plant-derived compound that has been widely used in pharmaceutical and food preservation applications. However, the antifungal mechanism for thymol against phytopathogens remains unclear. In this study, we identified the antifunga...

Experimental investigations were conducted to determine the influence of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channels containing aligned circular obstacles (with diameters of 172 µm and 132 µm) on the flow velocity and pressure drop under steady...

Capsaicin, the pungent ingredient of the hot chili pepper, is known to act on the transient receptor potential cation channel vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1). TRPV1 is involved in somatic and visceral peripheral inflammation, in the modulation o...

Trichothecene mycotoxins are a type of sesquiterpenoid produced by various kinds of plantpathogenic fungi. In this study, two trichothecene toxins, namely, a novel cytotoxic epiroridin acid and a known trichothecene, mytoxin B, were isolated from the...

Increasing evidence from both experimental and clinical studies depicts the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Specifically, disruption of homeostatic redox balance in accumulated body fat mass leads to obesity-a...

The effects of different drying methods (freeze drying, vacuum oven drying, and shade drying) on the phytochemical constituents associated with the antioxidant activities of Z. officinale var. rubrum Theilade were evaluated to determine the optimal d...

The objective of this review is to give an overview of the synthetic methods to prepare different indolo[3,2-b]carbazoles and similar systems with a potential use in electro-optical devices such as OLEDs (organic light emitting diode), OPVs (organic...

A new conjugated donor-acceptor (D-A) polymer pDSBT2-BT containing bi(disilano-bisthiophene) and benzothiadiazole as donor and acceptor units, respectively, was prepared. The polymer showed a broad UV-vis absorption band at λ_max = 599 nm in chloroben...

Glucosinolates are the biochemical compounds that provide defense to plants against pathogens and herbivores. In this study, the relative expression level of 48 glucosinolate biosynthesis genes was explored in four morphologically-different cabbage i...

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) cassettes are encoded widely by bacteria. The modules typically comprise a protein toxin and protein or RNA antitoxin that sequesters the toxin factor. Toxin activation in response to environmental cues or other stresses promotes...

Shikonin is a naphthoquinone isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Lithospermum. It has been used in the treatment of various tumors. However, the effects of shikonin on such diseases have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we...

α-Glucosidase inhibitors decrease the cleavage- and absorption rate of monosaccharides from complex dietary carbohydrates, and represent therefore an important class of drugs for management of type 2 diabetes. In this study, a defatted ethyl acetate...

The goal of this paper was to design several sodium carboxymethylcellulose hydrogels containing a BCS class II model drug and to evaluate their flow and thixotropic properties. The rheological measurements were performed at two temperatures (23 °C an...

The Chrysactinia mexicana A. Gray (C. mexicana) plant is used in folk medicine to treat fever and rheumatism; it is used as a diuretic, antispasmodic; and it is used for its aphrodisiac properties. This study investigates the effects of the essential...

An analytical ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method has been optimized and validated for the rapid extraction of stilbenes from grape canes. The influence of sample pre-treatment (oven or freeze-drying) and several extraction variables (solvent...

Micro-fabricated devices integrated with fluidic components provide an in vitro platform for cell studies best mimicking the in vivo micro-environment. These devices are capable of creating precise and controllable surroundings of pH value, temperatu...

A neutral α-glucan, named BP1, with a molecular mass of approximately 9.45 kDa, was isolated from Lobelia chinensis by hot-water extraction, a Q-Sepharose Fast Flow column and Superdex-75 column chromatography. Its chemical structure was characterize...

Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis is a superior method for preparing and synthesizing spherical particles of metal oxide or sulfide semiconductors. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) photocatalysts with different sizes and doped-CdS with different dopants and doping lev...

Quinoline-2-carboxylates are an important subclass of quinoline derivatives largely present in a variety of biologically active molecules, as well as useful ligands in metal-catalyzed reactions. Herein, we present a new one-pot protocol for synthesiz...

Tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP), a natural polysaccharide extracted from tamarind seeds is used in the pharmaceutical, textile and food industries as a mucoadhesive polymer. This work aimed to extract TSP from tamarind seeds from three sources wit...

Methanolic extracts from the aerial parts and roots of two Scutellaria species, S. alpina and S. altissima, and five polyphenols from these plants demonstrated a significant ability to inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in...

Incubation systems were established to investigate the effects of quercetin, kaempferol, isoquercitrin and astragalin in Lysimachia clethroides Duby on the activities of CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 in rat liver microsomes in vitro. Probe substrates of 4-nitrop...

We herein report for the first time the synthesis and analgesic properties of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using buchu plant extract. The as-synthesised Ag-NPs at different temperatures were characterised by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform in...

Rice koji, used early in the manufacturing process for many fermented foods, produces diverse metabolites and enzymes during fermentation. Using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS), ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatogra...