Constituents of the Vietnamese medicinal plant Orthosiphon stamineus

From the MeOH extract of the aerial part of Vietnamese Orthosiphon stamineus, five new isopimarane-type diterpenes [orthosiphols F-J (1-5)] and two new diterpenes [staminols A (6) and B (7)] with a novel carbon-framework, to which we proposed the name "staminane", and three new highly-oxygenated staminane-type diterpenes [staminolactones A (8) and B (9) and norstaminol A (10)1 were isolated. Moreover, staminolactone A (8) is 8,14-secostaminane-type and staminolactone B (9) is 13,14-secostaminane-type, while norstaminol A (10) is 14-norstaminen-type. Together with these new diterpenes, sixteen known compounds were also isolated and identified to be: 7,3',4'-tri-O-methylluteolin (11), eupatorin (12), sinensetin (13), 5-hydroxy-6,7,3',4'-tetramethoxyflavone (14), salvigenin (15), ladanein (16), tetramethylscutellarein (17), 6-hydroxy-5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone (18), vomifoliol (19), aurantiamide acetate (20), rosmarinic acid (21), caffeic acid (22), oleanolic acid (23), ursolic acid (24), betulinic acid (25), and beta-sitosterol (26). All the isolated compounds were tested for their cytotoxicity towards highly liver metastatic murine colon 26-L5 carcinoma cells, and the new diterpenes, except for 4, and flavonoids (11, 12, 16, 18) showed cytotoxicity with an ED50 value between 10 and 90 microg/ml.     

Determination of inorganic arsenic and organic arsenic compounds in marine organisms by hydride generation/cold trap/gas chromatography— mass spectrometry

The behavior of arsenite, methylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, trimethylarsine oxide, dimethyl-R-arsine oxides, and trimethyl-R-arsonium compounds (R = carboxymethyl, 2-carboxyethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl) toward sodium borohydride and hot aqueous sodium hydroxide was investigated. The arsines obtained by sodium borohydride reduction of the undigested and digested solutions were collected in a liquid-nitrogen cooled trap, separated with a gas chromatograph, and detected with a mass spectrometer in the selected-ion-monitoring mode. The investigated arsenic compounds were stable in hot 2 mol dm^?3 sodium hydroxide except arsenobetaine [trimethyl(carboxymethyl)arsonium zwitterion] that was converted to trimethylarsine oxide, and dimethyl(ribosyl)arsine oxides that were decomposed to dimethylarsinic acid. Hydride generation before and after digestion of extracts from marine organisms allowed inorganic arsenic, methylated arsenic, arsenobetaine, and ribosyl arsenic compounds to be identified and quantified. This method was applied to extracts from shellfish, fish, crustaceans, and seaweeds.     

Isolation and structure elucidation of genuine oat phytoalexin,avenalumin I

The major phytoalexin from oat leaves has been identified as 2-[2-(4-hydroxyphenyDethenyl] -6-hydroxy-4H-3,1-benzoxazin-4-one ($\text{A}$).     

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations of the cobalt porphine complex. I. LCAO SCF MO calculation of low-spin,high-spin,and π-ionized states of Co-porphine

Ab initio LCAO SCF MO calculations are carried out on planar Co-porphine with a basis set of roughly double zeta quality for Co and N and of single zeta quality for C and H. The net charge on Co and N and the overlap population between them are 1.78, ?0.57, and 0.06, respectively, in the ²A_1g, state, which is known to be the ground state by experiment. The bonding in this complex is thus largely ionic. The first and second calculated ionization potentials are 6.51 and 6.77 eV, respectively, and are in reasonable agreement with the observed ionization potentials of 6.44 and 6.62 eV for Ni-tetraphenylporphine. CI calculations within the framework of the ligand field theory are also performed. The calculated order of the five lowest states is ⁴B_2g ≈ ⁴E_g, ⁴A_2g, ²A_1g, ⁴E_g from below and is not in agreement with the semiempirical order of ²A_1g ≈ ⁴B_2G, ⁴A_2g, ²E_g, ⁴E_g determined by Lin.     

A new approach to the synthesis of cyclic ethers via the intermolecular allylation of α-acetoxy ethers and ring-closing metathesis

A concise synthesis of the isolaurepinnacin skeleton 6 was achieved via the intermolecular allylation of the α-acetoxy ether 3 followed by ring-closing metathesis. This methodology was successfully applied to the convergent synthesis of the oxocene 15, an advanced synthetic intermediate for the total synthesis of laurencin.     

Asymmetric benzoin condensation catalyzed by chiral rotaxanes tethering a thiazolium salt moiety via the cooperation of the component: can rotaxane be an effective reaction field?

Although some reactions on rotaxanes have been reported, the characteristic features of the rotaxanes providing unique reaction fields have hardly been studied, especially as catalyst. In our continuous studies on interlocked molecules such as rotaxanes and catenanes, we have noticed the importance of such interlocked structures with high freedom in functionalized materials such as molecular catalyst. For catalytic asymmetric benzoin condensations, two optically active rotaxanes possessing thiazolium salt moieties were prepared using the binaphthyl group as the chiral auxiliary. The benzoin condensations of aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by the chiral rotaxanes as catalysts gave optically active benzoins with ca. 30% ee in moderate to high chemical yields depending upon the structure of rotaxane and the reaction conditions employed. From the results, two intrarotaxane chirality transfers are confirmed: (i) through-space chirality transfer from wheel to axle and (ii) through-bond chirality transfer controlled with an achiral wheel. Because these asymmetric reaction fields are specific to the rotaxane structure, the importance and possibility of the "rotaxane field" as a particular reaction field is demonstrated in this work.     

Redox behavior of ferrocene-containing rotaxane: transposition of the rotaxane wheel by redox reaction of a ferrocene moiety tethered at the end of the axle

A rotaxane with a ferrocene moiety at the axle terminus was prepared. The redox potential of the ferrocene moiety decreased by ca. 80 mV when the rotaxane had a crown ether wheel capable of moving on the axle. Thus, the stabilization of the oxidized state of the ferrocene moiety is assumed to accompany the transposition of the wheel component on the axle toward the ferrocene moiety. [reaction--see text]     

A new ent-clerodane diterpene from the aerial parts of Baccharis gaudichaudiana

A new ent-clerodane diterpene, named bacchariol (1) was isolated from the aerial parts of Baccharis gaudichaudiana DC. (Compositae), together with known ent-clerodane diterpenes (2, 3), eight known flavonoids (4-11) and 3, 5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (12). Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses. Flavonoids (7, 8, 11) and 12 showed moderate scavenging activities toward 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals.     

Photoinduced electron transfer processes of fullerene rotaxanes containing various electron-donors

The photosensitized electron-transfer processes in the rotaxane hybrids composed with electron-accepting fullerenes and various electron-donors placed in the rotaxanes are revealed with time-resolved fluorescence and absorption spectral methods. Porphyrins are most useful as light-harvesting donors and photosensitizing donors. In addition, aromatic amines and ferrocene act as electron-donor and also hole-shifting reagents in multi-component rotaxanes. In the rotaxanes with spatially placed donor-acceptor molecules, the role of triplet states becomes important compared with the covalently connected donor–acceptor molecular systems, which may be related to the “through-space” and “through-bond” electron transfer, respectively. In the designed multi-component rotaxanes which maintain mechanically or topologically the electron-acceptor, electron-donor, and hole-shifter, the photoinduced electron transfer, hole-shift, electron–hole recombination are established. As a whole, contribution of the triplet excited states is prominent compared with the covalently bonded molecules and supramolecular systems constructed with coordination bonds.     

Evaluation of the DNA Alkylation Properties of a Chlorambucil-Conjugated Cyclic Pyrrole-Imidazole Polyamide

Hairpin pyrrole-imidazole polyamides (hPIPs) and their chlorambucil (Chb) conjugates (hPIP-Chbs) can alkylate DNA in a sequence-specific manner, and have been studied as anticancer drugs. Here, we conjugated Chb to a cyclic PIP (cPIP), which is known to have a higher binding affinity than the corresponding hPIP, and investigated the DNA alkylation properties of the resulting cPIP-Chb using the optimized capillary electrophoresis method and conventional HPLC product analysis. cPIP-Chb conjugate 3 showed higher alkylation activity at its binding sites than did hPIP-Chb conjugates 1 and 2 . Subsequent HPLC analysis revealed that the alkylation site of conjugate 3 , which was identified by capillary electrophoresis, was reliable and that conjugate 3 alkylates the N3 position of adenine as do hPIP-Chbs. Moreover, conjugate 3 showed higher cytotoxicity against LNCaP prostate cancer cells than did conjugate 1 and cytotoxicity comparable to that of conjugate 2 . These results suggest that cPIP-Chbs could be novel DNA alkylating anticancer drugs.