From the latex of Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) a novel cyclic octapeptide was isolated, which we named curcacycline A. The compound was found to contain one threonine, one valine, two glycine, and four leucine residues. By two-dimensional ~H-NMR spectroscopy (HOHAHA and ROESY), its sequence was determined to be GiyLLeu2-Leu3-Gly4-ThrS-Val6-LeuT-Leu sGly% Curcacycline A displays a moderate inhibition of (i) classical pathway activity of human complement and (ii) proliferation of human T-cells.and two-dimensional 1H-NMR spectroscopy (HOHAHA and ROESY). Experimental Plant materialJatropha curcas L. plants grown as hedges in Jepara (near Kudus, Java, Indonesia) were identified. Crude latex was obtained by cutting off leaf stalks, adding a few drops of EtOH to prevent the latex from excessive foaming. The latex was stored at -20°C until use.

No abstract

From the latex of Jatropha gossypifolia L. (Euphorbiaceae) a novel cyclic heptapeptide was isolated, which we named cyclogossine A. A combination of amino acid analysis, FAB mass spectrometry, and two dimensional 1H-NMR spectroscopy (TOCSY and ROESY) was used to determine the primary structure. The compound was found to contain one glycine, one alanine, one valine, two leucine, one threonine, and one tryptophan residue; its amino acid sequence is: Leu 1 - Ala 2 - Thr 3 - Trp 4 - Leu 5 - Gly 6 - Val 7. The absolute configurations of the amino acids were determined by chiral gas chromatography; all have the L-configuration.

No abstract

Fractionation of the acetone extracts of the rhizomes of P. erecta and the aerial parts of A. xanthochlora was predominantly performed by a combination of column chromatography on Sephadex LH-20, MCI gel CHP 20P, and Fractogel TSK HW-40(S) using different solvent systems. Moreover, DCCC was applied to the prepurified fractions. We isolated two dimeric hydrolyzable tannins from P. erecta, namely laeviga tin B (38.4mg, 0.004%) (1) and laevigatin F(195.1 mg. 0.021%) (2). In Alchemillae herba we found agrimoniin (1100.9mg, 0.396%) (3) and pendunculagin (341.7mg, 0.187%) (4), Ellagitannins are widely distributed in the plants ofthe subfamily Rosoideae (4), but 1-4 were hitherto unknown in the species investigated by us.