Diterpenoids from the Roots of Salvia yunnanensis

Natural Compounds of Salvia L. Genus and Molecular Mechanism of Their Biological Activity

The study of medicinal plants is important, as they are the natural reserve of potent biologically active compounds. With wide use in traditional medicine and the inclusion of several species (as parts and as a whole plant) in pharmacopeia, species from the genus Salvia L. are known for the broad spectrum of their biological activities. Studies suggest that these plants possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antiangiogenic, hepatoprotective, cognitive and memory-enhancing effects. Phenolic acids, terpenoids and flavonoids are important phytochemicals, which are primarily responsible for the medicinal activity of Salvia L. This review collects and summarizes currently available data on the pharmacological properties of sage, outlining its principal physiologically active components, and it explores the molecular mechanism of their biological activity. Particular attention was given to the species commonly found in Kazakhstan, especially to Salvia trautvetteri Regel, which is native to this country.

Isoprenylated Flavonoids as Cav3.1 Low Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channel Inhibitors from Salvia digitaloides

Saldigones A-C (1, 3, 4), three new isoprenylated flavonoids with diverse flavanone, pterocarpan, and isoflavanone architectures, were characterized from the roots of Salvia digitaloides, together with a known isoprenylated flavanone (2). Notably, it's the first report of isoprenylated flavonoids from Salvia species. The structures of these isolates were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. All of the compounds were evaluated for their activities on Cav3.1 low voltage-gated Ca2+ channel (LVGCC), of which 2 strongly and dose-dependently inhibited Cav3.1 peak current.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of the medicinal plant Salvia yunnanensis C. H. Wright. (Lamiaceae)

Salvia yunnanensis is a medicinal plant commonly used in the southwest of China. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of S. yunnanensis to investigate its phylogenetic relationship in the family Lamiaceae. The total length of the cp genome was 151,338 bp, with 38.0% overall GC content and exhibited typical quadripartite structure, a pair of IRs (inverted repeats) of 25,578 bp each were separated by a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,564 bp and a large single-copy (LSC) region of 82,618 bp. The cp genome contained 114 genes, including 80 protein coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated S. yunnanensis was closely related to S. miltiorrhiza, which afforded a scientific evidence that S. yunnanensis could be used as original species of Radix et Rhizoma Saliviae Miltiorrhizae (Danshen).

Salvianolic acid A & B: potential cytotoxic polyphenols in battle against cancer via targeting multiple signaling pathways

Nature has generously offered life-saving therapies to mankind by providing evolutionarily optimized drug-like entities in the form of natural products. These splendid gifts of nature have served as most suitable candidates for anti-cancer drug discovery due to their pleiotropic activity on target molecules. This review aims to provide an update on the natural sources and bioactivities of such gifts from nature, salvianolic acid A & B, which are major bioactive constituents of a traditional Chinses medicinal herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza. Salvianolic acid A & B have been reported to owe anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective activities. Currently salvianolic acids have been emerged as potent anti-cancer molecules. Salvianolic acid A & B fight cancer progression by prompting apoptosis, halting cell cycle and adjourning metastasis by targeting multiple deregulated signaling networks of cancer. Moreover, salvianolic acid A & B display potency towards sensitizing cancer cells to chemo-drugs. The review purposes that salvianolic acid A & B supply a novel opportunity for drug discovery but further experimentation is mandatory to embellish the knowledge of their pharmacological usage and to access their toxicological limits in order to establish these compounds as potential multitarget future drugs.

A Pair of Enantiomeric Bis- seco-abietane Diterpenoids from Cryptomeria fortunei

(±)-Cryptomeriolide, a pair of racemic bis- seco-abietane diterpenoids, were isolated from the bark of Cryptomeria fortunei. The separation of enantiomers was achieved by using chiral stationary phase HPLC. Their structures including the absolute configuration and conformations in solution and solid state were determined by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and comparison of calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism data. A bioinspired one-pot enantiomeric synthesis of 1a and 1b was accomplished via a readily made intermediate orthoquinone from sugiol. All compounds including the synthetic intermediates were assayed for their cytotoxic activities on human cancer cell lines HL-60, A549, and SGC7901.

Synthesis and Cytotoxicities of Royleanone Derivatives

Carnosic acid was used as starting material to synthesize royleanone derivatives featured C11-C14 para quinone. The importance of C-20 group of royleanone derivatives was verified by the cytotoxicity assay of royleanonic acid, miltionone I and deoxyneocrptotanshinone. Following our synthetic route, 15 amide derivatives were synthesized and 8 compounds exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against three human cancer lines in vitro.

Isolation, structural elucidation, and synthetic study of salviyunnanone A, an abietane derived diterpenoid with a 7/5/6/3 ring system from Salvia yunnanensis

Salviyunnanone A (1), a cytotoxic diterpenoid possessing an unprecedented architecture was characterized, and its 6-epi-isomer was synthetic achieved in 9 steps.