1-(2-Hydr­oxy-4,5-dimeth­oxyphen­yl)propan-1-one

In the title compound, C11H14O4, isolated from the stems of Trigonostemon xyphophylloides, an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond helps to establish an essentially planar conformation for the mol­ecule (r.m.s. deviation = 0.044 Å)

2-Hydr­oxy-1-methoxyxanthen-9-one monohydrate

In the title compound, C14H10O4·H2O, isolated from the roots of Calophyllum membranaceum, the xanthene ring system is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å). In the crystal structure, inter­molecular O—H⋯O and O—H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bonds connect the mol­ecules

2-Hy­droxy-3-nitro­benzaldehyde

The title compound, C7H5NO4, isolated from the leaves of Actephila merrilliana, is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.026 Å). The conformation is supported by an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond, which generates an S(6) ring. In the crystal, C—H⋯O inter­actions and aromatic π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distance = 3.754 (4) Å] help to establish the packing

1-(5-Hydroxy-7-methoxy-2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromen-6-yl)ethan-1-one

The title chromene, C14H16O4, was isolated from the stems of Polyalthia plagioneura Diels. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by an intra­molecular O–H⋯O hydrogen bond, which generates an S(6) ring. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O inter­actions, generating [010] chains

Inhibition of HIV-1 entry by extracts derived from traditional Chinese medicinal herbal plants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) is the current HIV/AIDS treatment modality. Despite the fact that HAART is very effective in suppressing HIV-1 replication and reducing the mortality of HIV/AIDS patients, it has become increasingly clear that HAART does not offer an ultimate cure to HIV/AIDS. The high cost of the HAART regimen has impeded its delivery to over 90% of the HIV/AIDS population in the world. This reality has urgently called for the need to develop inexpensive alternative anti-HIV/AIDS therapy. This need has further manifested by recent clinical trial failures in anti-HIV-1 vaccines and microbicides. In the current study, we characterized a panel of extracts of traditional Chinese medicinal herbal plants for their activities against HIV-1 replication.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Crude and fractionated extracts were prepared from various parts of nine traditional Chinese medicinal herbal plants in Hainan Island, China. These extracts were first screened for their anti-HIV activity and cytotoxicity in human CD4+ Jurkat cells. Then, a single-round pseudotyped HIV-luciferase reporter virus system (HIV-Luc) was used to identify potential anti-HIV mechanisms of these extracts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two extracts, one from <it>Euphorbiaceae</it>, <it>Trigonostema xyphophylloides </it>(TXE) and one from <it>Dipterocarpaceae</it>, <it>Vatica astrotricha </it>(VAD) inhibited HIV-1 replication and syncytia formation in CD4+ Jurkat cells, and had little adverse effects on host cell proliferation and survival. TXE and VAD did not show any direct inhibitory effects on the HIV-1 RT enzymatic activity. Treatment of these two extracts during the infection significantly blocked infection of the reporter virus. However, pre-treatment of the reporter virus with the extracts and treatment of the extracts post-infection had little effects on the infectivity or gene expression of the reporter virus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results demonstrate that TXE and VAD inhibit HIV-1 replication likely by blocking HIV-1 interaction with target cells, i.e., the interaction between gp120 and CD4/CCR5 or gp120 and CD4/CXCR4 and point to the potential of developing these two extracts to be HIV-1 entry inhibitors.</p

Isolation and Crystal Structure of Marcanine A from Polyalthia plagioneura

Marcanine A was isolated from the stems of Polyalthia plagioneura as light yellow crystals. The molecular and crystal structures have been determined by 1D,2D-NMR and X-ray diffraction analysis. It crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P-1 with a = 5.2140(5)Å, b = 10.1871(11)Å, c = 11.0709(13)Å, α = 110.452(2)º, β = 103.376(2)°, γ = 90.1870(10)°, V = 533.74(10)Å3, Z = 2. There are three intermolecular hydrogen bonds in a unit cell. It displays some inhibitory activities towards four kinds of human tumor cells, including BEL-7402, K562, SPCA-1and SGC-7409

Three New Ursane-Type Triterpenoids from the Stems of Saprosma merrillii

Three new ursane-type triterpenoids, 3α,6α,30-trihydroxy-ursan-28-oic acid (1), 3α,30-dihydroxy-6-oxo-ursan-28-oic acid (2) and 3α,6α,7α,30-tetrahydroxy-ursan-28-oic acid (3), together with one known triterpenoid, betulinic acid (4), one known anthraquinone, 1,7-dihydroxy-2-methylanthraquinone (5), four known phenols, 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene (6), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (7), syringic acid (8), isovanillin (9), two steroids, sitosterol (10) and daucosterol (11), were isolated from the ethanol extract of the stems of S. merrillii. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of physical and spectral techniques, besides comparison with literature data. Compounds 1–3 showed inhibitory activities against the A549, HEPG2, and B16F10 cell lines

1-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)propan-1-one

The title compound, C11H14O3, was isolated from the stems of Trigonostemon xyphophylloides, which belongs to Trigonostemon genus of Euphorbiaceae. The plants in this genus were used in folk medicine, such as for the treatment of diseases caused by viruses and fungi. The limited investigation of the chemistry of this plant prompted an examination of constituents of its twigs, from which the title compound was isolated. The molecule is approximately planar with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.1237&amp;#197;. In the crystal, intermolecular C&amp;#8212;H...O hydrogen bonds connect the molecules into a two-dimensional network structure with an R22(12) graph-set motif