The CH(2)Cl(2)-MeOH (1:1) extract of the leaves of Hintonia standleyana and H. latiflora caused significant decrease in blood glucose levels in both normal and streptozotozin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats when compared with vehicle-treated groups (p < 0.05). These extracts were not toxic to mice according to the Lorke criteria. From the hypoglycemic extract of H. standleyana, two new 4-phenylcoumarins, namely, 6''-O-acetyl-5-O-beta-d-galactopyranosyl-7,4'-dihydroxy-4-phenylcoumarin (1) and 6''-O-acetyl-5-O-beta-d-galactopyranosyl-7,3',4'-trihydroxy-4-phenylcoumarin (2), were obtained. The analogous extract of H. latiflora yielded the new 5-O-[beta-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-d-glucopyranosyl]-7,4'-dimethoxy-4-phenylcoumarin (3) along with several known compounds, including ursolic acid and desoxycordifolinic acid. Phenylcoumarins 1 and 2 showed hypoglycemic activity. HPLC profiles of the leaf extracts of both plants revealed the presence of known hypoglycemic phenylcoumarins as well as chlorogenic acid. The overall results have indicated that the leaves of H. standleyana and H. latiflora possess similar antidiabetic potential to their stem bark. Therefore, the leaves from these species could represent an alternative to the use of their stem bark, which, in turn, would contribute to the conservation of these Mexican medicinal plants.

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From an extract prepared from the grain-based culture of Malbranchea flavorosea two new polyketides, namely, 8-chloroxylarinol A (1) and flavoroseoside (2), along with the known compounds xylarinol A (3), xylarinol B (4), massarigenins B and C (5 and 6), and clavatol (7), were isolated. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated using spectroscopic methods and corroborated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the case of compound 2 the absolute configuration at the stereogenic centers was established according to the method of Flack. In addition, the X-ray structure of compound 6 is reported for the first time. Compounds 3, 4, and 6 significantly inhibited yeast α-glucosidase. Compound 6 also inhibited the postprandial peak during an oral sucrose tolerance assay when tested in vivo, using normal and NA/STZ-induced hyperglycemic mice.

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