Records of Natural Products

Cannabis sativa L. is a significant plant widely used for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Previous studies have reported that the secondary metabolites of this plant continue to play a crucial role in drug research and development. This study aims to investigate bioactive compounds in the n-hexane fraction obtained from the ethanolic extract of C. sativa flowers. The isolation yielded eight compounds (1-8), including one new compound (1). Their chemical structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and comparisons with previously reported data. The results of the preliminary biological evaluation revealed that compounds 2-4 and 8 suppressed the proliferation of SK-N-SH cells at 10 μM. Notably, compound 4 displayed the strongest activity, with an IC50 value of 22.53 ± 1.92 μM, suggesting its potential as a candidate for the development of neuroblastoma cell proliferation inhibitors. In addition, compounds 1-8 were also evaluated for antioxidant, tyrosinase, elastase, and collagenase inhibitory activities. Among them, compound 1 showed the highest antioxidant activity, inhibiting 50.89% at 100 μM, compared with ascorbic acid. Compounds 1-3 and 6-8 also demonstrated elastase inhibitory activity, with inhibition rates ranking from 49.95% to 56.68% at 1 mM, relative to oleanic acid as a positive control. Similarly, compounds 1, 3, and 5 inhibited collagenase, with inhibition rates ranging from 55.34% to 73.17% relative to EGCG as a positive control. However, all compounds displayed relatively weak tyrosinase inhibitory effects, with inhibition ranging from 5.22% to 31.02%. This study also represents the first published evaluation of the inhibitory activities of isolated compounds from C. sativa flowers against tyrosinase, elastase, and collagenase.

This study investigated the therapeutic mechanism of Fuer Decoction against precocious puberty through transcriptomics and network pharmacology. Female SD rats were allocated to six groups, and an NMA-induced model was established before drug administration. Vaginal opening, estrous cycle, reproductive organ morphology, and serum LH, FSH, E2, and GnRH levels were evaluated. Transcriptome sequencing, differential gene analysis, PPI network construction, GO/KEGG enrichment, and molecular docking were conducted, and  NTSR1 was validated via RT-qPCR. UHPLC-MS analysis identified 603 potential active compounds in the decoction. Fuer Decoction alleviated pathological changes and hormonal dysregulation in model rats. NTSR1 emerged as a core target, mainly associated with neuroactive ligand–receptor interactions and calcium signaling pathways.Eicosapentaenoic acid and aurantiamide acetate showed strong binding affinities to NTSR1. These findings suggest that Fuer Decoction may exert therapeutic effects on precocious puberty by modulating these pathways and key genes.

Chemical investigation of Viscum coloratum resulted in the isolation of a new benzoin, named 7-O-demethylamycolabenzoyl (1), along with two known isoflavones (2
and 3) and two known flavones (4 and 5). The structure of 1 was elucidated through extensive NMR and HRESIMS analysis and was further confirmed by 13CNMRcalculations. The absolute configuration at the sole chiral center was assigned as R by comparison of its experimental ECD spectrum with that of the analogue amycolabenzoyl (1a). A plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1 is proposed, suggesting its derivation from the co-isolated isoflavone 2. Compound 1 showed weak α-glucosidase inhibitory effects.

In this study, a previously undescribed glutarylimide compound was isolated from Streptomyces sp. JCM 4793. Its structure was evaluated through examinations of the NMR, HREIMS data and ECD calculation. Compound 1 was measured for its cytotoxicities against A549, K562, HepG2, SW480 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Compound 1 exhibited significant inhibitory activity against both K562 and A549 tumor cell lines, with IC50 values of 4.840 ± 0.329 μmol/L and 6.036 ± 0.157 μmol/L, respectively.