Natural and Nature-Derived Products Targeting Human Coronaviruses

The ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 human coronavirus (HCoV), has brought the international scientific community before a state of emergency that needs to be addressed with intensive research for the discovery of pharmacological agents with antiviral activity. Potential antiviral natural products (NPs) have been discovered from plants of the global biodiversity, including extracts, compounds and categories of compounds with activity against several viruses of the respiratory tract such as HCoVs. However, the scarcity of natural products (NPs) and small-molecules (SMs) used as antiviral agents, especially for HCoVs, is notable. This is a review of 203 publications, which were selected using PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, evaluates the available literature since the discovery of the first human coronavirus in the 1960s; it summarizes important aspects of structure, function, and therapeutic targeting of HCoVs as well as NPs (19 total plant extracts and 204 isolated or semi-synthesized pure compounds) with anti-HCoV activity targeting viral and non-viral proteins, while focusing on the advances on the discovery of NPs with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, and providing a critical perspective.     

Natural Small Molecules in Gastrointestinal Tract and Associated Cancers: Molecular Insights and Targeted Therapies

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Although surgery is the primary treatment, serious maladies that dissipate to other parts of the body may require chemotherapy. As there is no effective procedure to treat stomach cancer, natural small molecules are a current focus of research interest for the development of better therapeutics. Chemotherapy is usually used as a last resort for people with advanced stomach cancer. Anti-colon cancer chemotherapy has become increasingly effective due to drug resistance and sensitivity across a wide spectrum of drugs. Naturally-occurring substances have been widely acknowledged as an important project for discovering innovative medications, and many therapeutic pharmaceuticals are made from natural small molecules. Although the beneficial effects of natural products are as yet unknown, emerging data suggest that several natural small molecules could suppress the progression of stomach cancer. Therefore, the underlying mechanism of natural small molecules for pathways that are directly involved in the pathogenesis of cancerous diseases is reviewed in this article. Chemotherapy and molecularly-targeted drugs can provide hope to colon cancer patients. New discoveries could help in the fight against cancer, and future stomach cancer therapies will probably include molecularly formulated drugs.     

超临界流体萃取在天然药物分析中的应用

按物质的不同性质综述了１９９５年以来超临界流体萃取技术在天然药物分析中的一些进展情况,常见的分析主要包括萜类、生物碱、黄酮类、挥发油及苯丙素类。超临界流体萃取作为一门新型的样品前处理技术,在天然药物的分离分析中展示了其特有的优点。该技术操作温度低,不会引起热敏性的分解变质;使用的有毒溶剂少,从而减少化学药品对药物的污染。     

活性天然产物和结构多样性类天然产物的合成

天然产物骨架的复杂性和丰富的官能团化赋予了天然产物类化合物独有的生物学活性,因此天然产物作为药物研究的先导化合物有其无法替代的独特性质,比如紫杉醇、红霉素和利福霉素帮助科学家们理解重要的生物过程。以往化学家对天然产物独有情钟,但仅仅以合成天然产物本身为最终目的。今天,化学家们开始利用传统的合成方法来制备结构多样性的类天然产物化合物。这种利用合成手段制备的小分子化合物在生物学的基础研究和药物研究中将起到关键的作用。     

Synthesis of Furanoid Natural Products

Furanoid natural products, 1-ipomeanol( 17 ), 4-ipomeanol( 7 ), 1,4-ipomeadiol( 10 ) and ipomeanin ( 9 ) were synthesized from the intermediate compound ( 5 ) which was obtained by the photoaddition of furan with cyclopentanone followed by isomerization of the photoadduct( 3 ).     

Computational Screening of Natural Compounds for Identification of Potential Anti-Cancer Agents Targeting MCM7 Protein

Minichromosome maintenance complex component 7 (MCM7) is involved in replicative licensing and the synthesis of DNA, and its overexpression is a fascinating biomarker for various cancer types. There is currently no effective agent that can prevent the development of cancer caused by the MCM7 protein. However, on the molecular level, inhibiting MCM7 lowers cancer-related cellular growth. With this purpose, this study screened 452 biogenic compounds extracted from the UEFS Natural Products dataset against MCM protein by using the in silico art of technique. The hit compounds UEFS99, UEFS137, and UEFS428 showed good binding with the MCM7 protein with binding energy values of −9.95, −8.92, and −8.71 kcal/mol, which was comparatively higher than that of the control compound ciprofloxacin (−6.50). The hit (UEFS99) with the minimum binding energy was picked for molecular dynamics (MD) simulation investigation, and it demonstrated stability at 30 ns. Computational prediction of physicochemical property evaluation revealed that these hits are non-toxic and have good drug-likeness features. It is suggested that hit compounds UEFS99, UEFS137, and UEFS428 pave the way for further bench work validation in novel inhibitor development against MCM7 to fight the cancers.     

Ugi反应在环肽生物碱和小肽衍生物抗生素及细胞毒素类等天然产物合成中的应用

Ugi反应是由1分子醛或酮、1分子胺、1分子异腈和1分子羧酸4个组分通过缩聚反应生成α- 酰氨基酰胺类化合物的反应。 具有反应条件温和、产率高和原子经济性好等特点。 该反应还可与Suzuki、Heck和Smiles等经典反应偶联,使得其在天然产物合成方面得到越来越多的关注。 本文概括总结了近几十年来Ugi反应在一些天然产物合成中的应用。     

Toward the Dark Matter of Natural Products

Considering the dynamic features of natural products, our access toward exploring the entire diversity of natural products has been quite limited. It is challenging to assess the diversity of natural products by using conventional analytical methods, even with tandem chromatographic techniques, such as LC‐MS and GC‐MS. This viewpoint is supported by the sequencing analyses of microbial genomes, which have unveiled the potential of secondary metabolite production far exceeding the number of isolated molecules. Recent advancements in metabolomics, in concert with genomics analyses, have further extended the natural product diversity, prompting growing awareness of the existence of reactive or short‐lived natural molecules. This personal account introduces some examples of the discoveries of hitherto elusive natural products, due to physico‐chemical or biological reasons, and highlights the significance of the dark matter of natural products.     

天然产物结构分析中质谱与核磁共振技术应用新进展

天然产物结构鉴定是非常重要和活跃的研究领域,从中可以发现和利用其重要的生物活性组分,是目前新药物研发的关键.在该领域中分析化学新技术的研究和应用一直是人们研究的热点.本文综述了此研究过程中质谱技术、核磁共振技术以及联用技术等的最新进展.     

Syntheses of Iso-Condensed Heteroaromatic Pyrroles and the Application to the Total Synthese of Natural Products

A novel method, namely the intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and cycloreversion ofazido-alkylidene malonates, for the preparation of iso-condensed heteroaromatic pyrroles has beendeveloped. The application of this method for the synthesis of 2,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-b]indole ringsystem, as well as the application of this ring system for the total syntheses of ellipticine alkaloids arereported.     

Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Is Not a Major Modulating Factor in the Cytotoxic Response to Natural Products in Cancer Cell Lines

Numerous natural products exhibit antiproliferative activity against cancer cells by modulating various biological pathways. In this study, we investigated the potential use of eight natural compounds (apigenin, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, fisetin, forskolin, procyanidin B2, resveratrol, urolithin A) and two repurposed agents (fulvestrant and metformin) as chemotherapy enhancers and mesenchymal-to-epithelial (MET) inducers of cancer cells. Screening of these compounds in various colon, breast, and pancreatic cancer cell lines revealed anti-cancer activity for all compounds, with curcumin being the most effective among these in all cell lines. Although some of the natural products were able to induce MET in some cancer cell lines, the MET induction was not related to increased synergy with either 5-FU, irinotecan, gemcitabine, or gefitinib. When synergy was observed, for example with curcumin and irinotecan, this was unrelated to MET induction, as assessed by changes in E-cadherin and vimentin expression. Our results show that MET induction is compound and cell line specific, and that MET is not necessarily related to enhanced chemosensitivity.     

Syntheses of Chiral Acyclic Natural Products from Sugar

The syntheses of several biologically interesting acyclic natural products such as LTA, 1, LTB₄ 8, mosquito oviposition attractant pheromone 46 and cytotoxic annonaceous acetogenin corossolone 57 and corossoline 58 from sugars in our laboratory are reviewed.     

用组合化学建立天然产物类似物库

天然产物是药物先导化合物的重要来源.组合化学技术在天然产物的研究中起着越来越重要的作用.目前已构建并合成了许多以天然产物为模板的化合物库,为基于天然产物的药物研究开辟了广阔的空间.     

Biosynthesis of DNA-Alkylating Antitumor Natural Products

DNA-alkylating natural products play an important role in drug development due to their significant antitumor activities. They usually show high affinity with DNA through different mechanisms with the aid of their unique scaffold and highly active functional groups. Therefore, the biosynthesis of these natural products has been extensively studied, especially the construction of their pharmacophores. Meanwhile, their producing strains have evolved corresponding self-resistance strategies to protect themselves. To further promote the functional characterization of their biosynthetic pathways and lay the foundation for the discovery and rational design of DNA alkylating agents, we summarize herein the progress of research into DNA-alkylating antitumor natural products, including their biosynthesis, modes of action, and auto-resistance mechanisms.     

Natural Product Rottlerin Derivatives Targeting Quorum Sensing

Rottlerin is a natural product consisting of chalcone and flavonoid scaffolds, both of which have previously shown quorum sensing (QS) inhibition in various bacteria. Therefore, the unique rottlerin scaffold highlights great potential in inhibiting the QS system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Rottlerin analogues were synthesised by modifications at its chalcone- and methylene-bridged acetophenone moieties. The synthesis of analogues was achieved using an established five-step synthetic strategy for chalcone derivatives and utilising the Mannich reaction at C6 of the chromene to construct morpholine analogues. Several pyranochromene chalcone derivatives were also generated using aldol conditions. All the synthetic rottlerin derivatives were screened for QS inhibition and growth inhibition against the related LasR QS system. The pyranochromene chalcone structures displayed high QS inhibitory activity with the most potent compounds, 8b and 8d, achieving QS inhibition of 49.4% and 40.6% and no effect on bacterial growth inhibition at 31 µM, respectively. Both compounds also displayed moderate biofilm inhibitory activity and reduced the production of pyocyanin.     

Structural Reassignment of Two Polyenol Natural Products

Unusual polyenols that defied chemical principles were reassigned as the nucleosides, adenosine and uridine, using a combination of chemical intuition underpinned by Computer Assisted Structure Elucidation (CASE) and DFT methods.     

Empowering Synthesis of Complex Natural Products

Synthesis of natural products remains a daring task. Their richly diverse and intricate structures often encompass a large degree of unsaturation, contain fused and/or bridged rings, or possess numerous stereogenic centers. Thus, their preparation requires significant synthetic overhead, detracting from their overall practicality as well as hampering the ability of medicinal chemists to synthesize derivatives for pharmaceutical optimization and structure-activity relationship studies. The purpose of this Minireview is to showcase recent examples of efficient total syntheses. Emphasis was not given to the evaluation of ideality or economies (quality), but rather to the practicality (quality with quantity).     

化学发光法测定几种天然产物的抗自由基活性

为从天然产物中筛选出具有较好抗自由基活性的药物,利用鲁米诺 H2O2 CuSO4化学发光体系,测定了几种天然产物的抗自由基活性.结果表明抗自由基活性顺序为速溶茶>玉米须水提物>大豆异黄酮>Vc>刺槐花>花生壳丙酮提取物>玉米须醇提取物≈怀山药醇提物.