Five new sucrose esters from the whole plants of Phyllanthus cochinchinensis

Chemical investigation of the whole plants of Phyllanthus cochinchinensis(Euphorbiaceae)led to the isolation of five new sucrose benzoyl esters,3,6'-di-O-benzoylsucrose(1),3,6'-di-O-benzoyl-2'-O-acetylsucrose(2),3,6'-di-O-benzoyl-4'-O-acetylsucrose(3),3,6'-di-O-benzoyl-3'-O-acetylsucrose(4)and 3-O-benzoyl-6'-O-(E)-cinnamoylsucrose(5),together with two known secoiridoid glycosides,jasminoside(6)and jaslanceoside B(7).Their structures were established on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis and chemical method.

Synthesis of insecticidal sucrose esters

Some synthetic sucrose esters （SE） are a relatively new class of insecticidal compounds produced by reacting sugars with fatty acids, which are safe for the environment. Especially, sucrose esters composed of C6-C12 fatty acids have desirable insecticidal properties against many soft-bodied arthropod pests. In our study, sucrose octanoate which has the highest activity against a range of arthropod species was synthesized by a trans-esterification method and proved its insecticidal property. Under the condition of a homogeneous liquid, sucrose octanoate was prepared by reacting ethyl octanoate with sucrose at reduced pressure; the yield was 79.11%. Sucrose octanoate synthesized was identified and its property analyzed by IR, TLC and spectrophotometric analysis. It was shown that the ratio of monoester to polyester in sucrose octanoate was 1.48：1. The insecticidal activity of the synthetic sucrose octanoate was evaluated at a concentration of 4 and 8 mg.mL^-1. The mortality of first-instar larvae ofLymantria dispar from its contact toxicity was 72.5% after 36 hours, the revision insect reduced rate of Aphis glycines reached above 80% at 4 and 8 mg.mL^-1 after being treated for 5 days. Since the SE products are nontoxic to humans and higher animals, fully biodegradable and hydrolyzed to readily metabolizable sucrose and fatty acid, they are not harmful to crops and appear to be good insecticide candidates.

Chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Musella lasiocarpa

Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of the monotypic plant,Musella lasiocarpa,led to the isolation of four rare bicyclic diarylheptanoids,musellarins B-E(2-5),two new phenylphenalenones,2-methoxy-9-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-1H-phenalen-1-one(9),2-methoxy-9-(3′-methoxy-4′-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-phenalen-1-one(10),a new acenaphtylene derivative,trans-(1S,2S)-3-(4′-methoxyphenyl)-acenaphthene-1,2-diol(13),and two new sucrose esters,1,2′,3′,4′,6′-O-pentaacetyl-3-O-trans-p-coumaroylsucrose(16),1,2′,3′,4′,6′-O-pentaacetyl-3-O-cis-p-coumaroylsucrose(17),together with nine known compounds.In addition,(4E,6E)-1-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-7-(4′′-hydroxyphenyl)-hepta-4,6-dien-3-one(15)was isolated for the first time from a natural source.The structures of new compounds were elucidated by analysis of their spectroscopic data.Compounds 2,6,8-10,12,and 14 were cytotoxic toward several of the human tumor cell lines(HL-60,SMMC-7721,A-549,MCF-7,and SW480).Of these,the new compound 9 was the most potent one,with IC50 values of 5.8,10.3,6.3,3.3,and 2.3μM,respectively.