Chemistry & Biodiversity最新文献

Natural products frequently display a range of biological activities, yet many exhibit only moderate efficacy during initial evaluations. Often, these natural substances necessitate structural alterations to yield promising lead compounds. Chalcones, characterized by their β-unsaturated carbonyl aromatic ketone structure, are prevalent in plant life and serve as fundamental scaffolds for the biosynthetic precursors of flavonoids and isoflavones. Due to their straightforward synthesis and extensive spectrum of biological effects, chalcones have found extensive application in medicinal chemistry. Chalcone analogs have demonstrated significant potential for drug discovery and development, as structural modifications can both amplify pharmacological efficacy and effectively mitigate toxic side effects. This paper endeavors to delve into the applications of chalcones in the structural modification of natural products, providing a theoretical foundation for future endeavors in derivatization and drug development. The full paper is organized into categories based on the biological activities of the derivatives, including anti-dyslipidemic, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-Alzheimer, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities.

The cornea, the transparent part of the anterior eye, is vital for light refraction and vision. This review examines the intricate chemical and biochemical interactions essential for maintaining corneal transparency and highlights significant advancements in corneal biology. The cornea comprises five layers: the epithelium, Bowman's layer, stroma, Descemet's membrane, and endothelium, each contributing uniquely to its structure and function. The epithelium, maintained by limbal stem cells, serves as a barrier and interacts with the tear film to maintain ocular surface health. The stroma, abundant in organized collagen fibrils and regulated by proteoglycans, is crucial for corneal clarity and biomechanical integrity, while the endothelium regulates corneal hydration and nutrition. Recent imaging advances have improved visualization of these molecular structures, enhancing our understanding of collagen organization and cross-linking. Proteoglycans such as decorin and lumican regulate collagen spacing and hydration, directly influencing corneal clarity. Biochemical processes within the cornea involve signaling molecules, growth factors, and cytokines, which are essential for wound healing, inflammation, and injury response. Despite progress, questions remain regarding corneal wound healing mechanisms, the impact of oxidative stress, and the roles of microRNAs. This review synthesizes recent discoveries to advance our understanding of corneal physiology and biochemical functions.

Medicinal and aromatic plants are used in traditional medicine due to their diverse bioactive chemicals, Atriplex halimus is a saltbush that has an extensive background in traditional medicine giving it a strong argument for further ethnopharmacological research.  We aimed in this comprehensive review by using different databases as to illustrate the phytochemical composition, the traditional uses and the pharmacological properties of Atriplex halimus. We evaluated the phytochemical composition, the traditional uses and the pharmacological properties of Atriplex halimus using specific words in the different data bases such as Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect who served as the foundation to our research, 68 articles were retrieved from those databases out of an initial pool of 180 articles. Our review study revealed the different traditional uses and also the different families of compounds in Atriplex halimus extracts, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, and alkaloids. These compounds exhibited various pharmacological effects, notably antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, scolicidal and cytotoxic properties. The analysis of the gathered publications allowed us to categorize the phytochemicals, traditional applications, and pharmacological actions of Atriplex halimus extracts. This review underscores the importance of Atriplex halimus and highlights the presence of additional bioactive substances that remain unexplored but hold potential for future research.

Pipefish is traditionally used in Chinese folklore as a male tonic. Recent studies show that Syngnathus schlegeli extracts effectively combat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). However, the specific active compounds involved and their mechanisms of action are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate how pipefish peptides alleviate BPH using network pharmacology, molecular docking, and quantum chemical techniques. SN4, a gel-separated fraction from the neutral enzymatic hydrolysates of S. schlegeli, reveal 3470 peptide sequences, predominantly tetrapeptides enriched in Phe, Trp, Leu, and Ile. Network pharmacology identified SRC, AKT, and ITGB3 as primary targets. Molecular docking and in vitro tests on TP-induced RWPE-1 cell proliferation showed that peptides (FVDW, FIFE) were potentially active. In silico docking and quantum chemistry analysis showed that the N-terminal Phe linked to Ile/Val in FVDW and FIFE interacted with AKT1, ITGB3, and SRC proteins, enhancing ligand-receptor interactions and affinity, also highlighting their potential for improving BPH.

A comparative study of volatile compounds in four Achillea spices cultivated (A. aspleniifolia and A. filipendulina) and wild-grown (A. crithmifolia and A. virescens) in Serbia was analysed by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS). A total of 59 compounds were identified, representing 98.7-100 % of the total volatile compounds. In A. aspleniifolia, the dominant compound was β-pinene, while in the other three Achillea species the dominant was 1,8-cineole in combination with cis-thujone in A. crithmifolia, α-pinene, and p-cymene and chrysanthenone in A. virescens. According to the sensory analysis of odour, A. aspleniifolia has the highest herbal intensity (due to β-pinene) and significant citrus and spicy notes originate from other minor compounds. In other investigated species, the odor is herbal (due to 1,8-cineole), but other compounds determine odor; A. filipendulina is notably minty, A. crithmifolia is strong woody and terpenic, with notable thujonic characteristics, while A. virescens has terpenic, camphoraceous and spicy notes.

Padmaka (Prunus cerasoides Don.), or wild Himalayan cherry, is a deciduous tree from the Rosaceaae family. The Prunus genus has 400-430 species, including shrubs and trees. It is widely distributed across the Himalayan region of India, China, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand. It is used in many classical formulations of various Asian traditional medicinal systems viz., Ayurveda, TCM (traditional Chineese Medicines) and TTM (Traditional Thai Medicines) for treating burning sensations, Blisters, blood disorders, dizziness, bleeding disorders, herps, and skin disorders. The present review covers the research updates on P. cerasoides from 1982 to 2023, accessible on scholars' platforms and databases. More than 200 phytomolecules have been investigated for their biological potential and the discovery of pharmacophores-inspired drugs. Padmaka instigated over fifty diverse phytochemicals, viz. flavones, isoflavones, chalcones, terpenoids, glycosides, and sterols. The phytochemical flux of P. cerasoides is dominant with phenylpropanoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and terpenoids. Several experimental shreds of evidence emphasized the biological significance of P. cerasoides extracts and their derived phytochemicals. Medicinal significance and its safety in clinical validation have been discussed efficiently. Moreover, the barrier in validated therapeutics is a lack of information on the bioavailability of specialized bioactive, standardization, safety, and toxicokinetic. This review also provides insight into discussions on the key specialized secondary metabolism in P. cerasoides responsible for pharmacological/therapeutic action.

Traditional herbal medicines containing syringin in different parts of the world, have been used to enhance memory, relieve pain, cough, clear fever, treat psoas tension, tonsillitis, sore throat, acute gastroenteritis, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, etc. In this paper, the extraction, analytical method, pharmacological action and research progress of syringin containing plants were reviewed. Various extraction methods and detection methods of syringin were summarized, especially the ultrasonic-assisted extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography were recommended for the extraction and determination of syringin. We spotlighted the anti-cancer, brain-protective, and anti-inflammatory pharmacological effects of syringin. An in-depth analysis of four plants that contain syringin -- Eleutherococcus senticosus, Codonopsis pilosula, Daphne tangutica Maxim and Syringa reticulata subsp. Amurensis. In addition, the safety and efficacy of these four plants and preparations containing syringin (Shugan Jieyu Capsule, compound Coginseng tablet, hyoscyamine ointment and Qinfenghong Zhike capsule) were analyzed. Although syringin has been widely used in traditional medicine, its specific mechanism of action and clinical efficacy are still not completely understood, and further research is needed to explore and verify it. This study provides valuable theoretical basis and potential research direction for the research and development of new drugs such as anti-cancer and brain protection.

A library of benzenesulfonamide incorporated Schiff's base derivatives of 4-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazoles 1a-f, 2a-e, and 3a-e has been synthesized and evaluated in-vitro for their inhibition potential against cathepsin B enzyme.  All the tested compounds have possessed good to excellent anti-cathepsin B activity (40.62 % - 74.36 %) at 10-7 M concentrations in comparison with the curcumin (51.20 %) taken as reference. Among all, compound 3c has shown the highest activity exhibiting 74.36 % inhibition followed by 3e and 3b (69.99 and 68.36 % inhibition, respectively). Molecular docking was performed for the most active compound 3c and the reference compound, curcumin, to know their interactions in the active site of the target enzyme and the results obtained were in agreement with the experimental values. Additionally, DFT calculations were also performed to determine the values of electronic parameters including energies of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), HOMO-LUMO energy gap, chemical hardness, chemical softness, chemical potential, electronegativity, and electrophilicity index.

We investigated the total lipid fatty acid (FA) composition of the fern Asplenium scolopendrium gametophyte, representing 25 individual FA species, for the first time. Conjugated octadecadienoates - 18:2(10,12), rarely found in plant tissues, were identified. The possibility of modulating the lipid FAs composition under the action of light of different wavelengths on in vitro cultured gametophytes was demonstrated. Thus, exposure to blue (450 nm) and red (660 nm) light resulted in only insignificant changes in the minor FAs. This stability can be attributed to the fact that these wavelengths of light are necessary for photosynthesis and therefore optimal for the fern gametophyte. Green (GL, 525 nm) and far-red (FRL, 730 nm) light caused dramatic changes in the FA profile - the triene FAs decreased and the very-long-chain (VLC) FAs increased, mainly at the expense of saturated odd-VLCFAs. This resulted in a dramatic decrease in the unsaturation index, indicating a decrease in membrane fluidity under GL and FRL illumination conditions. These changes indicate a significant rearrangement of the lipid metabolism of the A. scolopendrium gametophyte at light wavelengths not directly involved in photosynthetic processes (GL and FRL), in particular by triggering β-oxidation and blocking the plastidial pathway of FA synthesis.

A new series of various aryl amide derivatives of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-1,2,4-thiadiazoles (15a-j) were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic profiles against four human cancer cell lines such as breast cancer (MCF-7), lung cancer (A549), colon cancer (Colo-205) and ovarian cancer (A2780) by using of MTT assay with etoposide as standard known chemotherapeutic agent. The five compounds 15a, 15b, 15c, 15f and 15j were exhibited more potent cytotoxic effect compared with etoposide. Among them, compound 15a exhibited potent cytotoxic effect against MCF-7, A549, Colo-205, and A2780 cell lines with IC50 values of 0.11±0.045 µM, 0.94±0.047 µM, 0.39±0.023 µM, and 0.77±0.062 µM respectively. Though docking simulations of Human Topoisomerase IIβ, it is apparent that compounds 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15f manifested exceptional binding affinity and interaction profiles, surpassing other compounds evaluated in this in silico study.