Premnalatifolin A, a novel dimeric diterpene from Premna latifolia Roxb

Recent Developments with Icetexane Natural Products

Icetexane diterpenoids are a diverse family of natural products sourced from several species of terrestrial plants. Icetexanes exhibit a broad array of biological activities and together with their complex 6-7-6 tricyclic scaffolds, they have piqued the interest of synthetic organic chemists, natural products chemists, and biological investigators over the past four decades and were reviewed 13 years ago. This review summarizes icetexane natural products isolated since 2009, provides an overview of new synthetic approaches to the icetexane problem, and proposes an additional classification of icetexanes based on novel structures that are unlike previously isolated materials.

Biogenetic and biomimetic synthesis of natural bisditerpenoids: hypothesis and practices

Covering: up to March 2022Bisditerpenoids, or diterpenoid dimers, are a group of natural products with high structural variance, deriving from homo- or hetero-dimeric coupling of two diterpenoid units. They usually possess complex architectures resulting from the diversity of monomeric diterpenoids as building blocks and the dimerization processes. These compounds have attracted the attention of synthetic and biological scientists owing to the rarity of their natural origin and their significant biological activities. Herein, we provide a review highlighting some of the interesting bisditerpenoids reported since 1961 and showcase the chemical diversity in both their structures and biosynthesis, as well as their biological functions. This review focuses on the biosynthetic dimerization pathways of interesting molecules and their biomimetic synthesis, which may act as useful inspiration for the discovery and synthesis of more bisditerpenoids and further pharmacological investigations.

Gold-Catalyzed Synthesis of Icetexane Cores: Short Synthesis of Taxamairin B and Rosmaridiphenol

We report the short synthesis of two natural products, rosmaridiphenol and taxamairin B, from key intermediates 5a and 5b, which were prepared from enynals 8a and 9b, respectively, by using a gold-catalyzed cyclization reaction. This approach can be widely applied in the synthesis of [6,7,6]-fused tricyclic compounds found in many icetexane diterpenoids.

Triple-negative breast cancer suppressive activities, antioxidants and pharmacophore model of new acylated rhamnopyranoses from Premna odorata

Phytochemical investigation of Premna odorata Blanco “Lamiaceae” young stems afforded four new acylated rhamnopyranoses 1–4, along with fourteen known compounds 5–19.

Internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) molecular morphometric analysis based species delimitation of foliar endophytic fungi from Aglaia elaeagnoidea, Flacourtia inermis and Premna serratifolia

Molecular morphometrics is an emerging third dimensional aspect of fungal species delimitation. They have been demonstrated to be more informative than conventional barcoding methods. Hence in this study, foliar endophytic fungal (FEF) assemblages in three Magnoliopsida plants were delimited using nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequence-secondary structural features based phylogenetic analysis, also known as molecular morphometrics. A total of 392 FEF isolates were obtained from the Aglaia elaeagnoidea, Flacourtia inermis, and Premna serratifolia leaves and grouped into 98 morphotypes. Among these host plants, P. serratifolia showed the maximum percentage of colonization frequency. Representatives of each morphotype was sequenced and subjected to further molecular characterization. The results revealed that morphotypes were belonged to the phylum of Ascomycota, distributed over two classes (Sordariomycetes (68.59%) and Dothideomycetes (31.41%)), 6 orders and 19 genera. Based on compensatory base changes (CBC) analysis and absolute identity of ITS2 structure, 21, 20 and 23 species were recognized from A. elaeagnoidea, F. inermis, and P. serratifolia respectively. Diversity indices were higher in A. elaeagnoidea, despite it accounted for a modest 16.8% of total isolates recorded in this study. The genus Colletotrichum was predominant in A. elaeagnoidea (39%) and P. serratifolia (48%). Similarly, Diaporthe (43%) was dominant in F. inermis. Several host-specific species were also observed. This study concludes that these plants host diverse species of Ascomycota. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed report on FEF diversity from these plants. Also, the inclusion of ITS2 secondary structure information along with the sequence provides a further dimension to resolve the inherent problems in identification of fungal species.

A Strategy toward Icetexane Natural Products

Icetexane diterpenoids are richly complex polycyclic natural products that have been described with a variety of biological activities. We report here a general synthetic approach toward the 6-7-6 tricyclic core structure of these interesting synthetic targets based on a two-step enolate alkylation and ring-closing metathesis reaction sequence.

Isolation, identification and bioactivities of abietane diterpenoids from Premna szemaoensis

Investigation of the leaves and stems of Premna szemaoensis resulted in the isolation of twelve new abietane diterpenoids, szemaoenoids A–L (1–12), together with four known abietane diterpenoids (13–16). The structures involved two rearranged-abietane skeletons: 17(15 → 16)-abeo-abietane (7, 10–12, 14 and 15) and 17(15 → 16),18(4 → 3)-diabeo-abietane (1–6, 13 and 16). The structures of the new compounds were established mainly by analyzing NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of 1, 3 and 10 were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In bioactivity assays, compounds 11, 12, 14 and 15 were active against two human colon cancer cell lines (HCT-116 and HT-29) with IC₅₀ values ranging from 8.8 to 34.3 μM, and compounds 10, 13 and 14 exhibited effective free radical scavenging activity with IC₅₀ values ranging from 35.6 to 41.5 μM by DPPH experiment.

Active abietane diterpenoids with two rearranged-abietane skeletons: 17(15 → 16)-abeo-abietane and 17(15 → 16),18(4 → 3)-diabeo-abietane were isolated from Premna szemaoensis.

Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological aspects of the genus Premna: a review

CONTEXT

The genus Premna (Lamiaceae), distributed throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands, is used in folk medicine primarily to treat inflammation, immune-related diseases, stomach disorders, wound healing, and skin diseases.

OBJECTIVES

This review exhaustively gathers available information on ethnopharmacological uses, phytochemistry, and bioactivity studies on more than 20 species of Premna and critically analyzes the reports to provide the perspectives and directions for future research for the plants as potential source of drug leads and pharmaceutical agents.

METHODS

A literature search was performed on Premna species based on books of herbal medicine, major scientific databases including Chemical Abstract, Pubmed, SciFinder, Springerlink, Science Direct, Scopus, the Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ethnobotanical databases.

RESULTS

More than 250 compounds have been isolated and identified from Premna species, comprising of diterpenoids, iridoid glycosides, and flavonoids as the most common secondary metabolites, followed by sesquiterpenes, lignans, phenylethanoids, megastigmanes, glyceroglycolipids, and ceramides. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted to evaluate the biological and pharmacological properties of the extracts, and isolated compounds of Premna species with antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antihyperglycaemia, and cytotoxic activities.

CONCLUSION

The bioactive compounds responsible for the bioactivities of most plants have not been well identified as the reported in vivo pharmacological studies were mostly carried out on the crude extracts. The isolated bioactive components should also be further subjected to more preclinical studies and elaborate toxicity study before clinical trials can be pursued.

Dinimbidiol Ether, a Novel Bioactive Dimeric Diterpene from the Root Extract of Cnidoscolus souzae

The radical scavenging assay-guided fractionation of the root extract of Cnidoscolus souzae resulted in the isolation and identification of a novel bioactive dimeric diterpene with an ether linkage which has been designated as dinimbidiol ether (2). Evaluation of the antioxidant activity using the DPPH reduction assay showed that 2 is the most active metabolite in the crude extract of the plant.

"Click" reaction mediated synthesis of costunolide and dehydrocostuslactone derivatives and evaluation of their cytotoxic activity

As part of pharmacological-phytochemical integrated studies on medicinal plants from Indian flora, costunolide (1) and dehydrocostus lactone (2), were isolated as major phytochemicals from Saussurea lappa, a plant traditionally used in different Asian systems of medicine. A series of 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles conjugates were synthesized through diastereo selective Michael addition followed by regioselective Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. All these triazolyl derivatives (5a-5j) & (7a-7j) were well characterized using modern spectroscopic techniques and evaluated for their anticancer activity against a panel of five human cancerous celllines. The results indicated that all the analogs displayed moderate cytotoxic activity.

Therapeutic Potential of Essential Oils Focusing on Diterpenes

Among all plant derivates, essential oils (EOs) have gained the attention of many scientists. Diterpenes, a family of components present in some EO, are becoming a milestone in the EOs world. The goal of this review is to describe a scenario of diterpenes taking into health-consumption deportment. Previous studies revealed that diterpenes have antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, cytotoxic, anticancer, antigenotoxic, antimutagenic, chemopreventive, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, immunostimulatory, organoprotective, antidiabetic, lipid-lowering, antiallergic, antiplatelet, antithrombotic, and antitoxin activities. In conclusion, diterpenes may be an immense featuring concern in pharmaceutical consumption from a drug discovery point of view. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Isolation, semi-synthesis and bio-evaluation of spatane derivatives from the brown algae Stoechospermum marginatum

A comprehensive investigation of chemical constituents from brown algae Stoechospermum marginatum yielded ten known spatane compounds (1-10). To develop the compound libraries on these scaffolds, a series of semi synthetic derivatives was prepared (1a-1d, 2a, 4a, 11 and 12) and investigated for their anti-microbial and anticancer activities. The results indicated that compounds 2a, 4, 1b and 4a exhibited potent cytotoxic activities against B16F10 cancer cell line with IC50 values of 3.28, 3.45, 3.62 and 4.11 μg/ml respectively, which are comparable to the standard drug (etoposide IC50=4.12 μg/ml). In addition, 4 and 1b were also manifested potent antimicrobial activities against tested bacterial and fungal strains. This is the first Letter on the synthesis and biological activities of these novel derivatives.

A novel diterpene skeleton: identification of a highly aromatic, cytotoxic and antioxidant 5-methyl-10-demethyl-abietane-type diterpene from Premna serratifolia

Premna serratifolia Linn. (syn: . P. corymbosa (Burm. f.) Merr., P. integrifolia L. and P. obtusifolia R. Br.) is a member of the Verbenaceae family that is extensively used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine in India. As part of our continuous pharmacological and phytochemical studies on medicinal plants, we have screened the methanolic extracts of leaves, root bark (RB) and root wood of P. serratifolia for cytotoxic activity against two cancer cell lines: SHSY-5Y neuroblastoma and B16 melanoma cells. The RB extract that showed promising activity was fractionated using solvents of increasing polarity followed by a combination of Sephadex LH-20 column and Combiflash chromatography as well as HPLC to afford the active principle. Comprehensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D NMR (COSY, HMQC, HMBC, NOESY) and MS analysis revealed the identity of the isolated compound as 11,12,16-trihydroxy-2-oxo-5-methyl-10-demethyl-abieta-1[10],6,8,11,13-pentene that appears to be a novel compound based on a new diterpene skeleton. The cytotoxic activity of the isolated compound was 21 and 23 times higher than the crude extract against the SHSY-5Y and B16 cells, respectively. The novel compound also possesses in vitro antioxidant effects as evidenced by the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging effect where an IC50 value of 20.4 ± 1.3 μM was obtained. In comparison, the positive control, caffeic acid, showed an IC50 value of 14.4 ± 1.6 μM.

Antioxidant, hepatoprotective and cytotoxic effects of icetexanes isolated from stem-bark of Premna tomentosa

The study investigates the antioxidant, hepatoprotective and antiproliferative effects of novel icetexane diterpenoids (ice 1-4) isolated from hexane extract of stem bark of Premna tomentosa. A549, HT-29, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, A431 cells were used to assess the antiproliferative activity by MTT assay. Cell death induced by apoptosis was determined by morphological assessment studies using acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining (dual staining), mitochondrial potential measurement by JC-1 staining, and cell cycle analysis by propidium iodide staining method by Muse cell analyser. Anti oxidant activity was investigated by in vitro assays such as DPPH, nitric oxide and superoxide scavenging activities. Hepatoprotective activity was determined in vitro with HepG2 cells and in vivo by tBHP induced hepatic damage mice model. Based on the in vitro cytotoxic assays and morphological assessment studies using fluorescence microscopic study (acridine orange and ethidium bromide double staining) and mitochondrial potential measurements, it was found that ice 2 and 3 possess good antiproliferative effect via mitochondrial mediated apoptosis in human lung and breast cancer cells. Results of in vitro antioxidant studies demonstrated that ice-4 has showed good antioxidant activity. The restoration of serum levels of SGOT, SGPT and ALKP, liver GSH status and reduction or inhibition of lipid peroxidation in liver of tBHP intoxicated mice after administration of ice-4 at dose of 250mg/kg indicated its potential use for hepatoprotective activity.

Dimeric labdane diterpenes: synthesis and antiproliferative effects

Several diterpenes with the labdane skeleton show biological activity, including antiproliferative effects. Most of the research work on bioactive labdanes has been carried out on naturally occurring diterpenes and semisynthetic derivatives, but much less is known on the effects of diterpene dimers. The aim of the present work was to synthesize dimeric diterpenes from the labdane imbricatolic acid using esters, ethers and the triazole ring as linkers. Some 18 new derivatives were prepared and the compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activity on human normal fibroblasts (MRC-5) and the following human tumor cell lines: AGS, SK-MES-1, J82 and HL-60. The diethers 8-10, differing in the number of CH₂ units in the linker, presented better antiproliferative activity with a maximum effect for the derivative 9. The best antiproliferative effect against HL-60 cells was found for compounds 3 and 17, with IC₅₀ values of 22.3 and 23.2 μM, lower than that found for the reference compound etoposide (2.23 μM). The compounds 9, 17 and 11 were the most active derivatives towards AGS cells with IC₅₀ values of 17.8, 23.4 and 26.1 μM. A free carboxylic acid function seems relevant for the effect as several of the compounds showed less antiproliferative effect after methylation.