Isolation and identification of triterpenoid compounds from Couroupita guianensis Aubl.

In this report, the extracts from the fruit and leaves of Couroupita guianensis were isolated using chromatographic methods and investigated for chemical composition. Four triterpenoid compounds were isolated and identified as betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, β-amyrin and friedelin. Their chemical structures were interpreted based on modern spectra such as MS, NMR and compared with previously published spectral data

Hedyotis konhanungensis (Rubiaceae): A new species from the central highlands of Vietnam

A new species of Hedyotis L. (Rubiaceae), Hedyotis konhanungensis B.H. Quang, T.A. Le, K.S. Nguyen & Neupane, is described and illustrated from the central highlands of Vietnam based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence. The new species belongs to the morphologically diverse tribe Spermacoceae (ca. 1000 species) of the family Rubiaceae, which is represented by 70–80 species in Vietnam. The phylogenetic analysis, based on four DNA regions (ITS, ETS, petD, rps 16), confirms the new species’ placement within the genus Hedyotis – one of the largest genera in the tribe, comprising ca. 180 species across Asia and the Pacific. Hedyotis konhanungensis is morphologically distinct from all southeastern Asian Hedyotis L. in its set of traits such as leaf type (shape and thickness), growth habit, and floral parts (color of inflorescence axis and the shape of calyx lobes). The new species shows similarities with Hedyotis shenzhenensis, H. shiuyingiae, and H. yangchunensis from China in its herbaceous habit, fleshy ovate leaf blades, and dark purple floral parts, but it is phylogenetically distinct and can be distinguished from them by the following combination of morphological traits: habit with slightly smaller stature (<25 cm), broadly ovate or deltoid stipules with cuspidate apex and entire margin, and ovate or nearly ovate calyx lobes

Markhacanasin C, cycloartane triterpenoid from the leaves of <i>Markhamia stipulata</i> var. <i>canaense</i> V.S. Dang

<p>One new cycloartane triterpenoid, named markhacanasin C (<b>1</b>), together with three known triterpenoids, oleanolic acid (<b>2</b>), ursolic acid (<b>3</b>) and 6<i>β</i>,19<i>α</i>-dihydroxyursolic acid (<b>4</b>) were isolated by various chromatographic methods from the most cytotoxic fraction of the ethyl acetate extract of <i>Markhamia stipulata</i> var. <i>canaense</i> V.S. Dang leaves. Among them, <b>4</b> was reported for the first time from the genus <i>Markhamia</i>, while <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> were found for the first time from this species. Their structures were elucidated by IR, UV, HR-ESI-MS and NMR experiments. The cytotoxicity of isolated compounds (<b>3</b> and <b>4)</b> against three human cancer cell lines (HeLa, HepG2, and MCF-7) were evaluated. At the concentration of 100 μg/mL, <b>3</b> exhibited significant cytotoxic activity (86.36 ± 3.69%).</p

Hepatoprotection and Phytochemistry of the Vietnamese Herbs Cleome chelidonii and Cleome viscosa Stems

The study aims to determine the hepatoprotective effect of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of the leaves and stems of two Cleome species against carbon tetrachloride- (CCl4-) induced liver toxicity both in vitro using human hepatoma (HepG2) cells and in vivo in rats as well as the hepatoprotective property of all isolated compounds on HepG2. After 72 h of treatment, at the concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL, the methanol of C. chelidonii stems (CCSM) ranged from 18.6% to 20.8%, whereas the methanol of C. chelidonii stems (CVSM) increased from 12.3% to 17.2% cell viability. The results show that CCSM and CVSM significantly expressed in vitro hepaprotective activity on HepG2. Therefore, the animals were daily treated with these extracts at the doses of 15, 30, and 45 mg/kg body weight for 5 days, and CCl4 was injected (2 ml/kg body weight, i.p.) on the 2nd and 3rd days. Levels of aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) and alanine aminotransferase (AST) in the blood were measured and compared to the silymarin control. The treatments with CCSM and CVSM (30, and 45 mg/kg) possessed significant hepatoprotection and were comparable with the activity of silymarin. Further, phytochemical studies of these ones were conducted and led to the identification of eight flavonoids: visconoside A (1), visconoside B (2), quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside 7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (3), kaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside 7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (4), cleomeside A (5), cleomeside B (6), cleomeside C (7), and quercetin-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1⟶2)]-α-L-rhamnopyranoside 7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (8). Two major flavonoids (1 and 4) displayed significant hepatoprotective property (at the concentration of 100 μM, the prevention percentage values were 66.5% and 74.2%, respectively, compared to the quercetin control, with value of 80.3%)

Evaluation of a liquid biopsy protocol using ultra-deep massive parallel sequencing for detecting and quantifying circulation tumor DNA in colorectal cancer patients

The identification and quantification of actionable mutations are critical for guiding targeted therapy and monitoring drug response in colorectal cancer. Liquid biopsy (LB) based on plasma cell-free DNA analysis has emerged as a non-invasive approach with many clinical advantages over conventional tissue sampling. Here, we developed a LB protocol using ultra-deep massive parallel sequencing and validated its clinical performance for detection and quantification of actionable mutations in three major driver genes ( and ). The assay showed a 92% concordance for mutation detection between plasma and paired tissues and great reliability in quantification of variant allele frequency