Kaempferide (3,5,7-trihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone, 1), a naturally occurring flavonoid with potent anticancer activity in a number of human tumour cell lines, was first semisynthesized from naringin. Based on Mannich reaction of kaempferide with various secondary amines and formaldehyde, nine novel kaempferide Mannich base derivatives 2-10 were synthesized. The aminomethylation occurred preferent...

Human rhinoviruses and enteroviruses (family Picornaviridae) infect millions of people worldwide each year, but little is known about effective therapeutical treatment for the infection caused by these viruses. We sought to determine whether or not Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) species can exhibit antiviral activity against picornaviruses. The leaf parts of four Zanthoxylum species were extracted with...

Though metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have inspired potential applications in biomedicine, cytotoxicity studies of MOFs have been relatively rare. Here we demonstrate for the first time that an easily available MOF, Fe-MIL-101, possesses intrinsic activity against human SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells and suppress the proliferation of SKOV3 cells (IC50 = 23.6 μg mL(-1)) and normal mouse embryonic f...

Species of the genus Lacistema are traditionally used by Brazilian and Peruvian indigenous communities. The present study investigated the in vitro antileishmanial activity against several Leishmania species, cytotoxicity in murine peritoneal macrophages, antiproliferative activity against HL60 and Jurkat cells, and antibacterial activities against seven bacteria strains of the aerial parts of ...

Influenza virus neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) were introduced in clinical practice in various parts of the world since 1999 but were only scarcely distributed in France. Prior to the generalization of zanamivir and oseltamivir utilization in our country, we decided to test a large panel of influenza strains to establish the baseline sensitivity of these viruses to anti-neuraminidase drugs, ba...

Cyclooxygenases and lipoxygenases are proinflammatory enzymes; the former affects platelet aggregation, vasoconstriction, vasodilatation and later the development of atherosclerosis. Red wines from Georgia and central and western Europe inhibited cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) activity in the range of 63-94%, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity in the range of 20-44% (tested at a concentration of 5 mL/...

Aims of the present study were to investigate effects of Balanophora spicata (BS) on antinociception and anti-inflammation both in vivo and in vitro. Crude extract of BS inhibited vascular permeability induced by histamine, serotonin, bradykinin, and PGE(2), but not by PAF. Furthermore, BS crude extract, different layers (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water layer), and lupeol acetate ...

In the present work we investigated, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory activity and the antioxidant properties of aqueous and ethanolic extracts, obtained from stem bark of Geoffroea decorticans (Gill. ex Hook. et Arn.) Burk. (Fabaceae). G. decorticans, commonly known as “chañar” or “chañarcillo”, is a traditional argentinean plant used as emollient, balsamic, antitussive, expectorant a...

The resistance of colon cancer to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a critical issue, and the cause of this resistance cannot always be explained based on the known molecules. Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) mRNA expression has recently been shown to be correlated with 5-FU resistance in 5-FU-resistant cell lines. In this study, we attempted to elucidate the functional mechanism of HSP27 in 5-FU resistanc...