Chemical Constituents of Plants from Tribe Chelidonieae and their Bioactivities

The tribe Chelidonieae comprises 23 species of eight genera with an extensive distribution and a long medicinal usage history both in China and Western countries. A large number of chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from the species in tribe Chelidonieae, such as alkaloids, organic acids, and their derivatives, aromatics, triterpenoids, sterols, essential oils, and proteins, most of which possess a variety of bioactivities, especially for the antibacterial, anti-inflammation, antitumor, analgesia, anti-oxidation, and antiparasitic activity. Meanwhile, potential toxicities have been discovered in some constituents. Therefore, the species in tribe Chelidonieae have become a rich source for new drug discovery, biologic study, and mechanism research. This paper presents comprehensive information of the chemical constituents, pharmacological and toxicological research on the plants in tribe Chelidoieae, which is a reference for the plants in this tribe for further development.

A Cytotoxic Neolignan from Schisandra propinqua （Wall.） Baill.

In the course of our study of bioactive natural products from Schisandra plants, we isolated a neolignan from an EtOAc extract of the stems of Schisandra propinqua （Wall.） Baill. The structure of the new com- pound was determined to be 4, 4-di （4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenly）-2, 3-dimethylbutanol （compound 1） on the basis of 1H- and 13C-NMR spectra and 2D NMR methods. Eight known compounds, compounds 2-9, were also isolated and identified, of which compounds 3, 4, 6 and 9 were isolated for the first time from this plant. In addition, compounds 1-4 were evaluated for cytotoxicity by an 3-（4,5-dimethyl-2 thiazoyl）-2,5-diphenyl-2H- tetrazolium bromide （MTT） assay. Compound 1 showed significant potential cytotoxic ability in the bioassay.

Inhibition of metabolic disorders in vivo and in vitro by main constituent of Coreopsis tinctoria

Objective：To investigate the effects of the ethyl acetate extract of Coreopsis tinctoria（EAEC）on insulin resistance（IR）in rats fed a high-fat diet.Methods：Male Sprague-Dawley（SD）rats were fed a HFD（60%fat）supplemented with EAEC for 8 weeks.The administration of EAEC to the rats with HFD-induced insulin resistance reduced hyperglycemia,plasma levels of insulin,and steatosis in the liver.Metabolomic study was used to analyze the metabolic levels of the high glucose-treated cells,control cells and marein-treated cells.Results：High glucose and high fat conditions caused a significant increase in blood glucose,insulin,serum TC,TG and LDL-C levels,leading to abnormal IR in rats.However,treatment with EAEC protects against HFD-induced IR by improving the fasting serum glucose homeostasis and lipid homeostasis.The high glucose conditions significantly decreased glycogen synthesis and increased PEPCK,G6Pase and Krebs cycle-related enzyme protein levels,leading to an abnormal metabolic state in Hep G2 cells.However,treatment with marein improved IR by increasing glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis and by downregulating PEPCK and G6Pase protein levels.The statistical analysis of the HPLC/MS data demonstrated that marein could restore the normal metabolic state.Conclusion：The results revealed that EAEC ameliorates IR in rats,and marein has the potential to improve IR by ameliorating glucose metabolism disorders.