hinokinin and sesamin

Silica gel column chromatography combined with high performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) was employed for the separation of potential anti-tumor compounds from a petroleum ether fraction of a crude extract of Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Sieb. & Zucc. This traditional Chinese medicine was recently found to display high inhibitory activity against A-549 human cancer cells in vitro and Lewis lung cancer in vivo. A 75% aqueous ethanol extract of the stem bark of Z. ailanthoides was fractionated with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. In this paper, the petroleum ether fraction was pre-separated by silica gel column chromatography with a petroleum ether-ethyl acetate gradient. Two fractions were further separated and purified by HPCCC using n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3:1:2:1, v/v) and petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (8:6:7:7, v/v). Finally, coumarins and lignans including luvangetin, xanthyletin, hinokinin and asarinin were isolated and identified by MS, (1)H and (13)C NMR. In total, 56mg of xanthyletin (1), 140mg of hinokinin (2), 850mg of luvangetin (3) and 74mg of asarinin (4) were obtained from approximately 50g of petroleum ether extract, in 96.0%, 94.0%, 99.0% and 94.0% purity, respectively, as determined by HPLC. The separation method proved to be efficient, especially for those minor components.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Benzodioxoles; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Coumarins; Countercurrent Distribution; Dioxoles; Humans; Lignans; Plant Bark; Silica Gel; Zanthoxylum

Five new compounds, ailanthamide (1), N-(4-methoxyphenethyl)-N-methylbenzamide (2), (2E,4E)-N-isobutyl-6-oxohepta-2,4-dienamide (3), 4-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methylbutoxy)benzaldehyde (4), and (E)-methyl 4-[4-(3-hydroxypropyl)phenoxy]-2-methylbut-2-enoate (5), and 17 known compounds have been isolated from the stem bark of Zanthoxylum ailanthoides. The structures were determined through spectroscopic and MS analyses. Compounds 1, 3, xanthyletin, decarine, (+)-episesamin, (-)-hinokinin, and evofolin-B exhibited inhibition (IC(50) < or = 5.34 microg/mL) of superoxide anion generation by human neutrophils in response to formyl-l-methionyl-l-leucyl-l-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B (fMLP/CB). Compounds 1, xanthyletin, decarine, and (+)-episesamin also inhibited fMLP/CB-induced elastase release with IC(50) values < or = 5.53 microg/mL.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Amides; Benzamides; Benzene Derivatives; Benzodioxoles; Coumarins; Dioxoles; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Lignans; Molecular Structure; Neutrophils; Pancreatic Elastase; Plant Bark; Plants, Medicinal; Superoxides; Taiwan; Zanthoxylum