Steroidal saponins with anti-inflammatory activity from Tribulus terrestris L.

Objective:Tribulus terrestris L.(T.terrestris)is a highly valuable traditional Chinese medicine used to treat stroke,inflammation,pulmonary fibrosis,liver cancer,and urolithiasis.To identify the basic substance responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of TST(total saponins of Tribulus),its chemical composition was systematically studied,and its effect of inhibiting nitric oxide generation and the expression of related inflammatory factors were determined.Methods:To separate chemical constituents from T.terrestris by column chromatography.Spectroscopic methods,including 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(NMR)and mass spectrometry(MS)techniques,were used to elucidate the isolated compounds.The anti-inflammatory activities of TST and several compounds were evaluated in vitro.Results:Fifteen steroidal saponins,including 9 furostanol steroidal saponins(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,and 15)and 6 isospirostanol steroidal saponins(9,10,11,12,13,and 14),were isolated from T.terrestris.TST significantly decreased the expression of tumor necrosis factor-a(TNF-a)and interleukin-6(IL-6)in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides.Compounds 13 and 15 evidently reduced TNF-a expression.Compounds 6,10,12,13,and 15 markedly reduced IL-6 expression.Conclusions:Compounds 1 was a novel furostanol steroidal saponin,named 26-O-b-D-glucopyranosyl-(25R)-5afurostan-12-carbonyl-20(22)-en-3b,26-diol-3-O-{b-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)-[b-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)]-b-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-[a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)]-b-D-galactopyranoside}.Compounds 2 was isolated from the family Zygophyllaceae for the first time,and 5 and 6 were isolated from the Tribulus genus.TST and compounds 6,10,12,13,and 15 exerts antiinflammatory activity.

Ethnopharmacology,phytochemistry,and pharmacology of Sterculia lychnophora Hance (Pangdahai)

The matured,ripen,and dried seeds of Scaphium affine(Mast.) Pierre,known as Pangdahai(PDH) in Chinese and recorded as Sterculia lychnophora Hance(scientific synonym) in the 2015 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopeia,have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine,Japanese folk medicine,Vietnamese traditional medicine,traditional Thai medicine and Indian traditional medicine.The decoctions of the seeds are used as a remedy for pharyngitis,laryngitis,constipation,cough,menorrhagia,and pain management.This review is aimed at fully collating and presenting a systematic and comprehensive overview of the ethnopharmacological uses of PDH,its phytochemical constituents,pharmacological activities,and toxicological profile.Additionally,this review aims to reveal the therapeutic potentials as well as the important scientific gaps in the research of this traditional medicine that need to be filled so as to provide a comprehensive data for its development,utilization and application.From our extensive review of literatures,the teas(water decoctions) of PDH,which largely contain very polar constituents like polysaccharides,are used in the treatment of constipation,pharyngitis,and pain traditionally and ethno-medicinally and their use have been justified by pharmacological studies carried out on the polysaccharides and aqueous extracts.Additionally,this review has revealed that the organic(ethanolic and methanolic) extracts of PDH possess diverse pharmacological(anti-inflammatory,anti-ulcer,anti-pyretic,anti-microbial,anti-obesity and analgesic) effects,yet have received little attention.Most studies on PDH have been focused on the polysaccharides(large molecular weight metabolites),resulting in a major scientific gap in our knowledge on PDH.Furthermore,this review has also shown that few studies have been done in the areas of quality control,pharmacokinetics,and toxicological studies of PDH.

Methods for determination of absolute configuration of monosaccharides

Monosaccharides are one of the most important structural components of biomolecules, such as polysac- charides, nucleic acids, glycolipids and glycoproteins. In structural analysis of polysaccharides and gly- coconjugates, the absolute configurations （D or L） of the constituent monosaccharides are usually deter- mined by measurement of the optical rotation, CD spectra or characteristic chromatographic retention behavior. However, each method has its unique advantages and limitations which should be considered while using them. In this review, an overview of the different methods for the determination of absolute configuration of monosaccharides and their underlying principles are summarized to serve as a reference for researchers.