Isoquinoline alkaloids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Broussonetia papyrifera</Emphasis> fruits

A new isoquinoline alkaloid, named broussonpapyrine (1), along with three other known isoquinoline alkaloids, namely nitidine (2), oxyavicine (3), and liriodenine (4), were isolated from Broussonetia papyrifera fruits. The structures of these compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR, MS techniques, and chemical methods. This is the first report of the isoquinoline alkaloids isolated from this plant. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 83–84, January–February, 2007.     

Optimization of the Extraction Conditions and Simultaneous Quantification by RP-LC of Six Alkaloids in Evodiae Fructus

A reversed phase liquid chromatographic (LC) method coupled with DAD (250 nm) has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of six alkaloids, dehydroevodiamine (1), wuzhuyuamide-I (2), 5-hydroxyrutaecarpine (3), 14-formyldihydrorutaecarpine (4), evodiamine (5) and rutaecarpine (6), in 12 batches evodiae fructus [the dried, unripe fruits of Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. or E. rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, E. rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang] as a traditional Chinese medicine. The method was carried out by a C₁₈ column (250 × 4.6 mm) with a gradient mobile phase of methanol, acetonitrile, and phosphoric acid–triethylamine–buffer solution. The contents of 1–6 in the evodiae fructus could easily be determined within 70 min. The experimental results were satisfactory for the intra-day and inter-day precision and accuracy of the method for simultaneous determination. The linear calibration ranges of 1–6 were 40–1,000, 20–500, 1–100, 10–500, 40–1,000 and 80–1,000 μg mL⁻¹. The recoveries of 1–6 were 97.43–103.73% with RSDs from 0.21 to 1.99%. The limits of detection for 1–6 were 2.0, 2.0, 0.1, 1.0, 5.0 and 5.0 μg mL⁻¹, and the limits of quantification were 6.6, 6.6, 0.3, 3.3, 16.5 and 16.5 μg mL⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of six alkaloids in the evodiae fructus.     

New alkaloids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Casimiroa edulis</Emphasis> fruits and their pharmacological activity

The extract of Casimiroa edulis was investigated for antihypertensive activity. The ethanol and total alkaloids (in chloroform) extracts were found to have antihypertensive properties at doses of 500 and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Four quinolinone alkaloids were isolated and identified as: 2-(2′-hydroxy-4′-methoxyphenyl)-5,8-dimethoxy-3-propyl-1H-quinolin-4-one (1), 5,8-dimethoxy-2-(3′-methoxyphenyl)-3-propyl-1H-quinolin-4-one (2), 5,8-dimethoxy-2-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-propyl-1H-quinolin-4-one (3), and 5,6-dimethoxy-2-(2′,5′,6′-trimethoxyphenyl)-1H-quinolin-4-one (4). Interestingly, compounds 1, 2, and 3 were found to be new alkaloids. The four isolated alkaloids showed antihypertensive activity at doses of 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg, respectively. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 473–476, September–October, 2007.     

Tetrahydroprotoberberine alkaloids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corydalis saxicola</Emphasis>

Thirteen tetrahydroprotoberberines, 2,9,10-thrihydroxy-3-methoxytetrahydroprotoberberine (1), cavidine (2), thalictrifoline (3), mesotetrahydrocorysamine (4), stylopine (5), sinactine (6), apocavidine (7), cheilanthifoline (8), 13-β-hydroxystylopine (9), tetrahydropalmatine (10), tetrahydropalmatrubine (11), isocorypalmine (12), and scoulerine (13) have been isolated from the herb of Corydalis. Saxicola Bunting. Of these alkaloids, 2,9,10-thrihydroxy-3-methoxytetrahydroprotoberberine (1) was a new base. The alkaloids mesotetrahydrocorysamine (4), stylopine (5), sinactine (6), apocavidine (7), cheilanthifoline (8), 13-β-hydroxystylopine (9), tetrahydropalmatine (10), tetrahydropalmatrubine (11), isocorypalmine (12), and scoulerine (13), although previously known, were isolated for the first time from Corydalis saxicola Bunting. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 143–144, March–April, 2007.     

Antiparasitic activity of certain isoquinoline alkaloids and their hypothetical complexes with oligonucleotides

The antiparasitic activity of two tetrahydrodiisoquinoline alkaloids 2, 3, β-allocryptopine (4), protopine (5), and a substituted phenylethylamine 6 was studied. Compounds 2 and 6 inhibited the growth of the parasite Leishmania donovani. The capability of the examined compounds to bind DNA was estimated by molecular modeling. It has been shown that binding occurs in the small groove and primarily at the AT-enriched part of the oligonucleotide. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 270–274, May–June, 2008.     

Spectrophotometric determination of methimazole,D-penicillamine,captopril, and disulfiram in pure form and drug formulations

A spectrophotometric method for the determination of methimazole (MT), D-penicillamine (PA), captopril (CA), and disulfiram (DM) was proposed. The method is based on the reaction of sulfur compound with N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DMPD) in acidic solution, in the presence of Fe³⁺ ions as oxidizing agent. The Beer’s law was obeyed in the range 16–110 mg of MT, 19–260 mg of PA, 29–160 mg of CA, and 36–110 mg of DM. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of these compounds in pharmaceuticals.     

Indole alkaloids from the roots of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Isatis ingigotica</Emphasis> and their antiherpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) activity <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

A new indole alkaloid 1, together with four known indole alkaloids 2–5, was isolated from the 95% EtOH extract of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Isatis indigotica. Alkaloids 2–5 were found in the plant for the first time. Their structures were elucidated as 3-hydroxy-3-acetonitrile-4-hydroxy-2-indolone (1), 1-methoxy-3-indoleacetonitrile (2), 3-indoleacetic acid (3), 3-indolealdehyde (4), and 1-methoxy-3indolecarbaldehyde (5) on the basis of spectroscopic data. Their anti-HSV effects in vitro were evaluated by plaque reduction assay.     

Norditerpene Alkaloids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Delphinium cuneatum</Emphasis>

A mixture of two new norditerpene alkaloids consisting of two regioisomers was isolated from the total alkaloids of Delphinium cuneatum roots. Their structures were proposed as 16-demethoxydelavaine (2a and b) on the basis of PMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, and mass spectra. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 467–468, September–October, 2005.     

Complete basis set,hybrid-DFT study,and NBO interpretations of the conformational behavior of 1,2-dihaloethanes

The conformational behavior of 1,2-difluoroethane (1), 1,2-dichloroethane (2), 1,2-dibromoethane (3), and 1,2-diiodoethane (4) have been analyzed by means of complete basis set CBS-QB3, hybrid-density functional theory (B3LYP/Def2-TZVPP) based methods and natural bond orbital (NBO) interpretation. Both methods showed the expected greater stability of the gauche conformation of compound 1 compared to its anti conformation. Contrary to compound 1, the anti conformations of compounds 2–4 are more stable than their gauche conformation. The stability of the anti conformation compared to the gauche conformation increases from compound 1 to compound 4. The NBO analysis of donor–acceptor (σ → σ*) interactions showed that the generalized anomeric effect (GAE) is in favor of the gauche conformation of compound 1. Contrary to compound 1, GAE is in favor of the anti conformations of compounds 2–4. The GAE values calculated (i.e., GAE_anti − GAE_gauche) increase from compound 1 to compound 4. On the other hand, the calculated dipole moment values for the gauche conformations decrease from compound 1 to compound 4. In the conflict between the GAE and dipole moments, the former succeeded in accounting for the increase of the anti conformation stability from compound 1 to compound 4. There is a direct correlation between the calculated GAE, ∆[r _c–c(G) − r _c–c(A)] and ∆[r _c–x(A) − r _c–x(G)] parameters. The correlations between the GAE, bond orders, total steric exchange energies (TSEEs), ΔG _{Anti–Gauche}, ΔG ^‡(Gauche → Gauche′, C _2v), ΔG ^‡(Anti → Gauche, C ₂), dipole–dipole interactions, structural parameters, and conformational behaviors of compounds 1–4 have been investigated.     

Ellagic acid derivatives from the stem bark of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dipentodon sinicus</Emphasis>

Ellagic acid derivatives were isolated from Dipentodon sinicus and their structures were identified as 3,3′,4′-tri-O-methylellagic acid (1), 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid (2), 4,4′-di-O-methylellagic acid (3), 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid-4′-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (4), 3,3′,4′-tri-O-methylellagic acid-4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), 3,3′-di-O-methylellagic acid-4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), and ellagic acid (7). All the compounds were isolated for the first time from the title plant. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 106–107, March–April, 2007.     

Chromatographic and electrophoretic determination of thioamides based on thiazole, 1,3,4-thiadiazole, 1,2,4-triazole,and tetrazole

A procedure was developed for the determination of the following thioamides based on thiazole, 1,3,4-thiadiazole, 1,2,4-triazole, and tetrazole: 2-mercaptothiazole (I), 2-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole (II), 2-mercapto-5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole (III), 3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole (IV), 3-mercapto-4-methyl-1,2,4-triazole (V), and 5-mercapto-1-methyltetrazole (VI). The determination was performed by reversed-phase HPLC on a column (150 × 4 mm) packed with Diaspher-110-C18 (5 μm) using elution with an acetonitrile-acetate buffer solution (pH 4.70) mixture (5: 95). Detection was performed at the light absorption maximums of compounds I (320 nm), II (305 nm), III (310 nm), IV (260 nm), V (254 nm), and VI (245 nm). The calibration graphs were linear over the following concentration ranges (μg/mL): 0.47–11.72 (I), 0.47–11.82 (II), 0.53–13.22 (III), 0.40–10.11 (IV), 0.46–11.52 (V), and 0.46–11.62 (VI). The limits of detection were 0.45, 0.43, 0.50, 0.37, 0.41, and 0.42 μg/mL for compounds I–VI, respectively. Conditions for the separation of a mixture of compounds I and III–V and for the quantitative determination of compounds I–VI by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) were optimized. CZE was performed on a quartz capillary of size 60 cm (effective length of 50 cm) × 75 μm at a voltage of 20 kV with a borate buffer solution (pH 9.18). The procedure allowed us to evaluate the concentrations of substances in the ranges of 1.17–93.75 (I), 1.18–94.54 (II), 1.32–105.76 (III), 1.01–101.13 (IV) 1.15–115.16 (V), and 1.16–116.15 (VI) μg/mL with the detection limits of 1.10, 1.11, 1.20, 0.96, 1.01, and 1.02 μg/mL for compounds I–VI, respectively.     

Two novel phenolic compounds from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stenoloma chusanum</Emphasis> and their antifungal activity

Two new phenolic compounds, 4-O-β-D-(6-O-gentisoylglucopyranosyl) vanillic acid (1), 2-O-β-D-(6-O-gentisoylglucopyranosyl) gentisic acid (2), together with three known compounds, vanillic acid (3), syringic acid (4), and gentisic acid (5), were isolated from the whole part of Stenoloma chusanum (L.) Ching. Structures of the two new compounds 1, 2 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods, including twodimensional NMR techniques and HR ESI-MS analysis. The compounds′ activities against Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Aspergillus niger were determined, and the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were 25–100 μg/mL. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 161–164, March–April, 2009.     

Glutinane triterpenes from the stem bark of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Euonymus hamiltonianus</Emphasis>

Three new glutinane-type triterpenes, 19α-glutin-5-en-19-ol (1), 2β,15α,21β-glutin-11-ene-2,15,21-triol (2), and 2β,19α-glutin-7,21-diene-2,19-diol (3), were isolated from the stem bark of Euonymus hamiltonianus. Their structures were determined by 1D and 2D NMR along with MS and IR. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 321–323, May–June, 2009.     

Synthesis,characterization, and thermal behavior of palladium(II) coordination compounds containing isonicotinamide

Palladium(II) coordination compounds of general formula trans-[PdX₂(isn)₂], X = Cl⁻ (1), N₃ ⁻ (2), SCN⁻ (3), NCO⁻ (4), isn = isonicotinamide; were synthesized and characterized in solid state by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and simultaneous TG–DTA. TG experiments reveal that the compounds 1–4 undergo thermal decomposition in three or four stages, yielding Pd⁰ as final residue, according to calculus and identification by X-ray powder diffraction.     

New thiazinediones and other components from Xanthium strumarium

Two new thiazinediones along with five known compounds were isolated from the fruits of Xanthium strumarium L. The structures of the two new compounds were determined to be 7-hydroxymethyl-8,8-dimethyl-4,8-dihydrobenzol[1,4]thiazine-3,5-dione-11-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and 2-hydroxy-7-hydroxymethyl-8,8-dimethyl-4,8-dihydrobenzol[1,4]thiazine-3,5-dione-11-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2). The five known compounds were identified as xanthiazone (3), chlorogenic acid (4), ferulic acid (5), formononetin (6), and ononin (7), respectively. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 456–458, September–October, 2006.     

Simultaneous Determination of Six Steroidal Alkaloids of Veratrum dahuricum by HPLC–ELSD and HPLC–MSn

A high performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC–ELSD) and electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI–MSⁿ), respectively, has been performed for the simultaneous determination of six steroidal alkaloids, including pseudojervine, veratrosine, jervine, veratramine, 3-veratroylzygadenine, 3-angeloylzygadenine, in Veratrum dahuricum collected in different seasons. The plants were soaked in methanol and extracted ultrasonically. The six steroidal alkaloids were obtained by silica gel column chromatography, eluting with gradient petroleum and acetyl acetate. The intra-day and inter-day precisions of the method were evaluated and were less than 1.4%. The content of steroidal alkaloids in the plant varied significantly from spring to autumn, confirming the necessity to control the quality of V. dahuricum during its preparation and application.     

A novel compound from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Flos carthami</Emphasis> and its bioactivity

A novel compound, 4-{1′-hydroxy-1′-mercapto-1′-[1′′-2′′(N→O)-isoquinolyl]}yl-1-benzoic acid (1), together with six known compounds, 6-hydroxykaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), rutin (3), quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), cartormin (6), hydroxysafflor yellow A (7), were isolated by chromatography from the n-BuOH fraction of 50% ethanol extraction of Flos carthami. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral analysis and comparison with published data. Among them, compound 1 was shown to possess a weak protective effect against cerebral ischemic damage in rats. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 339–341, May–June, 2009.     

A new alkaloid from Lysimachia patungensis

A new pyridine alkaloid and six known compounds were isolated from the whole plant of Lysimachia patungensis Hand.-Mazz. The structure of the new alkaloid, named patungensin, was characterized as (17R, E)-2-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxy-17-acetoxy-cyclopentadeca-1, 3-diene[1,2-b]pyridine, and the six known compounds were identified as octacosanoic acid (1), palmic acid (2), stigmasterol (3), ardisiacrispin A (5), isorhamnetin 3-β-D-galactopyranoside (6), and isorhamnetin 3-robinobioside (7), respectively. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 141–142, March–April, 2007.     

Imidazolylcardenolides

The new compounds strophanthidin-19-carbonylimidazole (1), erysimin-19-carbonylimidazole (2), cymarin-19-carbonylimidazole (3), and 17α-strophanthidin-19-carbonylimidazole (4) were synthesized by reacting cardenolide carboxylic acidsand N,N′-carbonyldiimidazole. It was shown for the first time that this reaction can be carried out with an angular carboxylic acid. The preparation and previously unknown properties of erysimin-19-carboxylic acid, cymarin-19-carboxylic acid, and 17α-strophanthidin-19-carboxylic acid were also described. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 373–374, July–August, 2008.     

Novel convenient synthesis of (Z/E)-8-dodecenyl acetates, components of the Grapholitha molesta sex pheromone

Components of the Grapholitha molesta sex pheromone, (Z/E)-8-dodecenyl acetates (1, 2), were synthesized in five steps in 20% overall yield using 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (3) as starting material. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 592–594, November–December, 2006.