Vicia sativa L. (common vetch) is a potential food source for both human beings and animals because of its abundant nutritional composition. There is a lack of phytochemical study on the whole plant, and thus the objective of this study was to investigate the isolation of phytochemicals and evaluate their biological activities. A new flavanol, (2R,3S)-3,3'-dihydroxy-4',7-dimethoxyflavanol (1), together with nine known compounds, two flavones (2-3), one coumarin (4), and six oleanane triterpenoids (5-10), was obtained from Vicia sativa L.. The structure of the new compound 1 was determined via its NMR spectra, IR and CD data. Compound 3 displayed the potential of the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging effect in antioxidant test. In terms of cytotoxic activities, compound 3 showed moderate cytotoxic activities against three human tumor cells, especially HeLa cells.

Aphapolin A, a nemoralisin‐type diterpenoid possessing a unique 4/5‐fused‐ring system that is unprecedented in previously reported nemoralisin diterpenoid, and aphapolin B, a novel nemoralisin‐type diterpenoid derivative containing a benzofuran moiety, along with a new natural product were isolated from Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) R. Parker. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by spectroscopy data, X‐ray crystallography diffraction analysis, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. Plausible biosynthetic pathways of aphapolins A and B were also delineated.

3), together with seven known analogues, were isolated from the 95 % EtOH extract of the whole plants of Pedicularis uliginosa BUNGE. Their structures were elucidated via extensive NMR spectroscopy and mass spectral data. In terms of inhibitory effects on human tumor cells, compounds 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 exhibited better inhibitory activities against ACHN cells than the positive control (vinblastine).

Insect–host relationships can generate spatial patterns. The effect of plant species has been widely investigated, whereas the effect of plant size was ignored. The authors characterized the spatial pattern of the swift moth Endoclita excrescens Butler by combining spatial analysis by distance indices (SADIE) and spatial point pattern analysis (SPPA). Two contiguous plots of monospecific plantations of Manchurian ash Fraxinus mandshurica with different diameters at breast height (DBH) were sampled, and the position, DBH, and count of attack holes of each ash tree were recorded. The aggregation at the landscape scale is far stronger than those at the stand scale. At the landscape scale, trees with small number of bored holes were close to each other at distances of r < 4 m. None of the significant patterns were found at the stand scale. SADIE results showed a strong association between count of attack holes and DBH at the landscape scale, whereas weak association at the stand scale. SPPA results showed that, either at the landscape or stand scale, the locations of ash trees were randomly distributed at small distance, but aggregated at large distance. The counts of holes are only dependent on the point (tree) at small distances (r < 2.5 m) at the landscape scale. These results provide basic information for sampling and precision‐targeted controlling programs.

A new isopimarane-type diterpenoid, crolaevinoid A, along with four known analogues was isolated from the twigs and leaves of Croton laevigatus.The structures of the isolated compounds were established on the basis of NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses. The isolated compounds were examined the antibacterial activities, unfortunately, the compounds show no antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus, MRSA, Aeromonas hydrophila, Klebsiella pneumoniae ssp pneumoniae, Acinetobacter Bauman and Escherichia coli.