Three Undescribed Iridoid Derivatives Isolated from the Fruits of Vitex trifolia with Their Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Activities

Vitex trifolia L. is a medicinal plant and widely distributed in the northern mountainous areas of Vietnam. Phytochemical study on the fruits of this plant led to the isolation of nine iridoid derivatives (1-9) including three undescribed compounds (1-3). Their structures were elucidated to be 3''-hydroxyscrophuloside A1 (1), 3''-hydroxycallicoside D (2), 2'-p-hydroxybenzoylaucubin (3), 6'-p-hydroxybenzoylmussaenosidic acid (4), nishindaside (5), agnuside (6), 10-O-vanilloylaucubin (7), 6'-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl-gardoside (8), and buddlejoside B (9) based on extensive analyses of HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra. Compounds 1, 2, 4, and 8 significantly posessed anti-barterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains with MIC values in range of 16-64 μg/mL. At concentration of 20 μM, compounds 1-9 did not show cytotoxic effects against human lung cancer cells (PC9).

Traditional Medicinal Uses, Phytochemistry, Biological Properties, and Health Applications of Vitex sp

The genus Vitex is also known as a chaste tree, in which it is a large shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. A diverse range of species is distributed throughout Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Central Asia. The Vitex tree, including its leaves and fruits, has been used for herbal remedies in the form of pastes, decoctions, and dried fruits since ancient times. This article aimed to prepare a comprehensive review of traditional uses and secondary metabolites derived from Vitex sp., including the chemical compounds, biological activities, application of Vitex in human clinical trials, toxicology and safety, marketed products, and patents. The scientific findings were obtained using a number of search engines and databases, including Google Scholar, PMC, and ScienceDirect. Vitex species are well known in pharmacology to have medicinal values, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Previous studies reported that some species are proven to be effective in treating diseases, such as diabetes, and improving female health. A total of 161 compounds from different Vitex species are reported, covering the literature from 1982 to 2022. A chemical analysis report of various studies identified that Vitex exhibited a wide range of phytoconstituents, such as iridoid, diterpenoid, ecdysteroid, and flavonoid and phenolic compounds. Apart from that, the review will also discuss the application of Vitex in human clinical trials, toxicology and safety, marketed products, and patents of the genus. While the extracts of the genus have been made into many commercial products, including supplements and essential oils, most of them are made to be used by women to improve menstrual conditions and relieve premenstrual syndrome. Among the species, Vitex agnus-castus L. is the only one that has been reported to undergo clinical trials, mainly related to the use of the genus for the treatment of mastalgia, menstrual bleeding problems, amenorrhea, menorrhagia, luteal insufficiency, and premenstrual syndrome. Overall, the review addresses recent therapeutic breakthroughs and identifies research gaps that should be explored for prospective research work.

Sequence Analysis of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of a Medicinal Plant, Vitex rotundifolia Linnaeus f. (Lamiales: Lamiaceae)

In the present study, we depicted the complete mitochondrial genome of a valuable medicinal plant, Vitex rotundifolia. The mitochondrial genome of V. rotundifolia, mapped as a circular molecule, spanned 380,980 bp in length and had a GC content of 45.54%. The complete genome contained 38 protein-coding genes, 19 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and 3 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs). We found that there were only 38.73% (147.54 kb), 36.28% (138.23 kb), and 52.22% (198.96 kb) of the homologous sequences in the mitochondrial genome of V. rotundifolia, as compared with the mitochondrial genomes of Scutellaria tsinyunensis, Boea hygrometrica, and Erythranthe lutea, respectively. A multipartite structure mediated by the homologous recombinations of the three direct repeats was found in the V. rotundifolia mitochondrial genome. The phylogenetic tree was built based on 10 species of Lamiales, using the maximum likelihood method. Moreover, this phylogenetic analysis is the first to present the evolutionary relationship of V. rotundifolia with the other species in Lamiales, based on the complete mitochondrial genome.

Traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of genus Vitex (Lamiaceae)

Vitex, the genus of the family Lamiaceae, comprises of about 230 species mostly distributed in the warm regions of Europe and temperate regions of Asia. Several Vitex species have been used as folk medicine in different countries for the treatment of various kinds of diseases and ailments. The main aim of this review is to collect and analyze the scientific information available about the Vitex species regarding their chemical constituents and pharmacological activities. The phytochemical investigation of various Vitex species has resulted in the isolation of about 556 chemical constituents belong to various chemical category viz. iridoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, lignans, sesquiterpenoids, monoterpenoids, ecdysteroids, and others. The crude extracts of different Vitex species as well as pure phytochemicals exhibited a wide spectrum of in-vitro and in-vivo pharmacological activities. In the present review, the scientific literature data on the ethnopharmacological, phytochemical, and pharmacological investigations on the genus Vitex are summarized. More attention should be given in future research to evaluate the pharmacological potential with detailed mechanism of actions for the pure compounds, extracts of plants from this genus. Moreover, their clinical study is needed to justify their use in modern medicine and to further exploring this genus for new drug discovery.

Anti-inflammatory diterpenes from the fruits of Vitex trifolia L. var. simplicifolia Cham

Two new labdane-type diterpenes, named viterotulin C (1) and vitexilactone D (2), together with five known diterpenes (3-7), were isolated from the fruits of Vitex trifolia L. var. simplicifolia Cham. Their structures were elucidated by detailed analysis of spectroscopic data. All the compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway in HEK 293 cell line. These compounds presented inhibition on TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation, with inhibition rates ranging from 42.52 ± 10.69% to 68.86 ± 10.76% at the concentration of 50 μM.

A new iridoid glycoside from the fruits of Vitex rotundifolia

One new iridoid glycoside, 6',10-di-O-(4-hydroxybenzoyl) aucubin (1), together with ten known compounds, including five diterpenoids (2-6), two triterpene glucosides (7-8) and three methoxylated flavonoids (9-11) were isolated from the fruits of Vitex rotundifolia. Compounds (3, 4, 7, and 8) were reported for the first time from this plant. Their structures were elucidated by spectral analysis and by comparison with literature data. Furthermore, some of the isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicities against A549 and HepG-2 cell lines using MTT assay, and only compounds 9 and 10 exhibited potent cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ values of 13 ± 4 and 35 ± 10 μM against HepG-2 cell lines.

A Review on the Terpenes from Genus Vitex

The genus Vitex, which belongs to the Verbenaceae family, includes approximately 250 species. Some species of the genus Vitex have traditionally been used for the treatment of headaches, ophthalmodynia, coughs, asthma, premenopausal syndrome, etc. Chemical investigations indicate that the characteristic constituents of the genus Vitex are terpenes, and 210 of these compounds, including monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids and triterpenoids, have been obtained from 12 species. Pharmacological studies had shown that these terpenes possess anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial, antioxidant activities, and so on. In this paper, the identity of these terpenes and their pharmacological effects are reviewed, which can provide references for further research regarding the chemistry and utilization of the Vitex species.