BACKGROUND The dried root of Polygala tenuifolia, named Radix Polygalae, is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine. Triterpenoid saponins are some of the most important components of Radix Polygalae extracts and are widely studied because of their valuable pharmacological properties. However, the relationship between gene expression and triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis in P. tenuifolia is u...

Two new ent-kauren-19-oic acid derivatives, ent-14S*-hydroxykaur-16-en-19-oic acid and ent-14S*,17–dihydroxykaur-15-en-19-oic acid together with eleven known compounds entkaur-16-en-19-oic acid, ent-kaur-16-en-19-al, ent-12β-hydroxykaur-16-en-19-oic acid, ent12β-acetoxykaur-16-en-19-oic acid, 8R,13R-epoxylabd-14-ene, eudesm-4(15)-ene-1β,6αdiol, (–)-7-epivaleran-4-one, germacra-4(15),5E, 10(14)-...

The isolation and structural studies on the chemical constituents of Viburnum grandiflorum are described. The medicinal properties of the plant are also described. The mentholic extract was subjected to the preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) test experiments to investigate the isolation pattern. Based on the PTLC test experiments, the extract was subjected to the silica gel column chr...

The lipophilic composition of wild Arbutus unedo L. berries, collected from six locations in Penacova (center of Portugal), as well as some general chemical parameters, namely total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was studied in detail to better understand its potential as a source of bioactive compounds. The chemical composition of the li...

AIM OF THE STUDY Investigate the hypoglycaemic activity of the four isolated compounds from a crude acetone extract of the root bark of Euclea undulata var. myrtina, which is used by traditional healers in the Venda area, Limpopo Province in the treatment of diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS The hypoglycaemic activity of the four compounds isolated from Euclea undulata was determined by in vitro...

Oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) are enzymes that play a key role in control of the biosynthesis of phytosterols and triterpene saponins. In order to uncover OSC genes from Polygala tenuifolia seedlings induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), RNA-sequencing analysis was performed using the Illumina sequencing platform. A total of 148,488,632 high-quality reads from two samples (control and the MeJA tr...

The present investigation deals with the nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of dried fruit of fig (Ficus carica) commonly known as “Anjir” in India. The nutritional profiling of the dried fig fruit indicates that it is a good source of carbohydrates and minerals like strontium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It has average protein and dietary fiber cont...

Antiproliferative action of different pentacyclic triterpenes has repeatedly been reported, and some lipoxygenase inhibitors have been shown to induce cell death in various cell systems. Acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a pentacyclic triterpene that inhibits 5-lipoxygenase in a selective, enzymedirected, nonredox, and noncompetitive manner. To investigate a possible effect of AKBA o...

Frankincense extracts and boswellic acids, biologically active pentacyclic triterpenes of frankincense, block leukotriene biosynthesis and exert potent anti-inflammatory effects. Screening for additional effects of boswellic acids on further proinflammatory pathways, we observed that acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid, an established direct, nonredox and noncompetitive 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor,...

Partially coalified, structurally intact latex fibers found in a low rank coal were characterized by analytical methods. The latex fibers have a high sulfur content of approximately 10 percent. It has been proposed in previous studies, and it appears to be the case here, that the latex material has been “naturally” vulcanized during the early diagenetic period. Two fossilized latex samples reco...