Terpenoids and Their Biological Activities from Cinnamomum: A Review

Cinnamomum is a genus of the family Lauraceae, which has been recognized worldwide as an important genus due to its beneficial uses. A great deal of research on its phytochemistry and pharmacological effects has been conducted. It is noteworthy that terpenoids are the characteristic of Cinnamomum due to the peculiar structures and significant biological effects. For a more in-depth study and the better use of Cinnamomum plants in the future, the chemical structures and biological effects of terpenoids obtained from Cinnamomum were summarized in the present study. To date, a total of 181 terpenoids with various skeletons have been isolated from Cinnamomum. These compounds have been demonstrated to play an important role in immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. However, studies on the bioactive components from Cinnamomum plants have only focused on a dozen species. Hence, further studies on the potential pharmacological effects need to be conducted in the future

Tzumin A and B, two new lignan derivatives from the barks of <i>Sassafras tzumu</i>

<p>Two new lignan compounds, 5′-allyl-2,2′-dihydroxy-[1,1′-biphenyl]-5-carboxylic acid (<b>1</b>) and 4,4′-diallyl-[1,1′-biphenyl]-2,2′-diol (<b>2</b>), together with four known compounds (<b>3–6</b>), were isolated from the barks of <i>Sassafras tzumu</i>. The new compounds were determined by NMR (¹H and ¹³C NMR, HSQC, HMBC, ¹H-¹H COSY, NOESY/ROESY), and MS analysis. Compounds <b>1–3</b> showed potent AChE inhibitory activities, with IC₅₀ values of 2.00, 1.81 and 1.91 μM, respectively.</p

Biodegradation of Cyanide by a New Isolated <i>Aerococcus viridans</i> and Optimization of Degradation Conditions by Response Surface Methodology

Microbial treatment of cyanide pollution is an effective, economical, and environmentally friendly method compared with physical or chemical approaches. A cyanide-degrading bacterium was isolated from electroplating sludge and identified as Aerococcus viridans (termed A. viridans T1) through an analysis of the biochemical reaction and 16 S rDNA gene sequence. A. viridans T1 showed a maximum resistance to 550 mg L−1 CN−. The effect of pH and temperature on cyanide degradation and bacterial growth was evaluated. The highest cyanide removal efficiency and bacterial growth occurred at pH 8 and pH7, respectively. The optimum temperature for cyanide degradation and bacterial growth was 34 ∘C. In addition, the carbon source and nitrogen source for cyanide degradation were optimized. The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source were glycerol and peptone, respectively. The cyanide degradation experiment indicated that A. viridans T1 was able to remove 84.1% of free cyanide at an initial concentration of 200 mg L−1 CN− within 72 h and 86.7% of free cyanide at an initial concentration of 150 mg L−1 CN− within 56 h. To improve the cyanide-degrading efficiency of A. viridans T1, eight process variables were further optimized using a response surface methodology. Three significant variables (soybean meal, corn flour, and L-cysteine) were identified using a Plackett–Burman design, and the variable levels were optimized using a central composite design. The optimal values of soybean meal, corn flour, and L-cysteine were 1.11%, 1.5%, and 1.2%, respectively. Under these optimal conditions, the confirmatory experiments showed that the actual degradation rate was 97.3%, which was similar to the predicted degradation rate of 98.87%. Its strong resistance to cyanide and cyanide-degrading activity may allow A. viridans T1 to be a candidate for the bioremediation of cyanide-contaminated environments

The efficacies and biomarker investigations of anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1)-based therapies for metastatic bone and soft tissue sarcoma

Objective: Sarcomas are a group of rare malignancies with various subtypes. Patients with metastatic sarcoma who have failed traditional treatments can possibly achieve better prognoses from using novel therapies, including anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1)-based therapies. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 24 metastatic sarcoma patients from June 15, 2016 to December 30, 2019. These patients mainly received angiogenesis inhibitors combined with anti-PD-1 therapy after they became resistant to traditional treatments. Furthermore, 8 patients underwent panel DNA and whole transcript sequencing. Results: Six patients received 2 cycles of anti-PD-1 therapy and were included in the safety evaluation only group. The median follow up time was 5.77 months. The median progression free survival was 7.59 months, the overall response rate was 16.7% and the disease control rate was 55.6%. Based on whole exome and transcript sequencing data, there was no association between 'FMB, TNB, MSI, IlLA-LOIL and PD-L1 expressions and sarcoma types with clinical responses. Immunotherapy efficacy and bioinformatics analyses indicated higher intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) in progressive disease (PD) patients and lower ITH in partial response (PR) and stable disease patients. A higher percentage of immune cell infiltration, especially monocytes, was observed in PR patients. Active stromal gene expression was increased in PD patients but decreased in PR patients. Enrichment analysis revealed that an increased TGF-beta signaling pathway was reversely correlated with anti- PD-1 efficacy, while a decreased inflammatory response signaling pathway was positively correlated with anti-PD-1 efficacy. Conclusions: Our study showed PD-1 inhibitors combined with anti-angiogenesis agents were effective and well-tolerated. ITH, monocyte ratio, stroma subtypes, and the status of immune-associated signaling pathways may be related with anti-PD-1 based therapy