The fatty acid components in C. odorata with NF-κB inhibitory activity could explain the anti-inflammation property of this plant in traditional medicine. This study could also contribute to the better use of C. odorata for human health care.

A new stereoisomer Meso-araguspongine C together with nine reported macrocyclic bis-quinolizidine alkaloids araguspongines A, C, E, L, N-P, petrosin, and petrosin A were isolated from marine sponge Xestospongia muta. Stereochemistry of meso-araguspongine C (2) and araguspongines N-P (3-5) were established by their NMR data and conformational analyses. Both araguspongine C (1) and meso-araguspongine C (2) exhibited great cytotoxic activity towards HepG-2, HL-60, LU-1, MCF-7, and SK-Mel-2 human cancer cells (IC in the range of 0.43-1.02 μM). At a concentration of 20 μM, isolated compounds (1-10) also showed modest inhibitory effects (from 7.6 to 40.8%) on the NO production in LPS activated RAW264.7 macrophages.

Four new cucurbitane- type triterpene glycosides, charantosides D-G (1–4) were isolated from a methanol extract of Momordica charantia fruits. The structures of these compounds were determined by chemical and spectroscopic methods to be (19 R)-5 β,19-epoxy-25-methoxycucurbita-6,23-diene-3 β,19-diol 3- O-β-D-glucopyranoside, (19 R)-5 β,19-epoxy-25-methoxycucurbita-6,23-diene-3 β,19-diol 3- O-β-D-allopyranoside, 7 β-methoxycucurbita-5,23 E,25-triene-3 β-ol 3- O-β-D-allopyranoside, and 3 β,7 β-dihydroxycucurbita-5,23 E,25-triene-19-al 3- O-β-D-allopyranoside.

Three new constituents (1-3) were isolated from the whole plant of Balanophora laxiflora. Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Absolute configurations of new compounds were determined by circular dichroism spectra and modified Mosher's method. The isolated compounds weakly inhibited on both NO production and COX-2 mRNA expression in RAW264.7 macrophages.

Two new sesquiterpenes, named dysinidins A-B (3, 4) along with two known sesquiterpenes, furodysinin lactone (1) and O-methyl furodysinin lactone (2), were isolated from the Vietnamese marine sponge Dysidea fragilis. Their structures were determined by 1D-and 2D-NMR spectroscopies and HR ESI MS, as well as by comparison with reported literature data. None of compounds showed inhibitory growth of human lung cancer cell lines, A-549 and H-1975 (IC 50 > 30μM).

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Context: Traditional Chinese medicines have attracted increasing interest as potential sources of novel drugs with a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities. Annona glabra Linn (Annonaceae) is used in traditional medicine as an anticancer drug. Phytochemical investigation of this plant led to the isolation of acetogenins, ent-kauranes, peptides, and alkaloids. In addition, compounds exhibited anticancer, anti-HIV-reserve, and antimalaria. Objective: Isolation, structure determination, and cytotoxic activity evaluation of compounds from the methanol extract from A. glabra fruits. Materials and methods: Using chromatographic methods to isolate compounds from the A. glabra methanol extract. The cytotoxic activity of compounds was evaluated by a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In addition, compounds which showed significant cytotoxic activity were chosen for further study apoptosis characteristics. (5), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (6), blumenol A (7), cucumegastigmane I (8), and icariside B 1 (9), were isolated from the fruits of A. glabra. Icariside D 2 (3) was found to show significant cytotoxic activity on the HL-60 cell line with the IC 50 value of 9.0 ± 1.0 mM and did not show cytotoxic activity on the Hel-299 normal cell line. The further test indicated that compound 3 induced apoptosis via alteration of expression of apoptosis-related proteins and decreased phosphorylation of AKT in HL-60 cells. Discussion and conclusion: The results suggested that the constituents from A. glabra may contain effective compounds which can be used as anticancer agents.

One new biscembranoid, petronigrione (1), and five known compounds, methyl tortuoate B (2), lobophytone U (3), lobophytone H (4), (24S)-ergostane 3β,5α,6β,25tetraol-25-monoacetate (5), and (24S)-ergostane-1β,3β,5α,6β,25-pentaol-25-monoacetate (6), were isolated from the methanol extract of the marine sponge Petrosia nigricans. Their structures were established on the basis of spectral and chemical evidence. The cytotoxicity of all compounds was evaluated by MTT assay on four human cancer cell lines, HepG2, KB, LU-1, and MCF-7. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities on the four human cancer cell lines with IC 50 values ranging of 20.7-28.9 μg/mL.