lignans and bicyclol

Lignans are widely produced by various plant species; they are a class of natural products that share structural similarity. They usually contain a core scaffold that is formed by two or more phenylpropanoid units. Lignans possess diverse pharmacological properties, including their antiviral activities that have been reported in recent years. This review discusses the distribution of lignans in nature according to their structural classification, and it provides a comprehensive summary of their antiviral activities. Among them, two types of antiviral lignans-podophyllotoxin and bicyclol, which are used to treat venereal warts and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in clinical, serve as examples of using lignans for antivirals-are discussed in some detail. Prospects of lignans in antiviral drug discovery are also discussed.

Topics: Antiviral Agents; Benzodioxoles; Biological Products; Biphenyl Compounds; Drug Development; Furans; Lignans; Masoprocol; Plants; Podophyllotoxin

Nine new acyl glycosides, obtusifosides A-I (1-9), and eight known compounds have been isolated from an EtOH extract of the stems of Erycibe obtusifolia. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of a spectroscopic data analysis (NMR, HRESIMS, and CD) and chemical evidence. The hepatoprotective effects of some of the compounds from d-galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity in HL-7702 hepatic cells were evaluated. Compounds 1, 10, 11, 13, 16, and 17 showed significant hepatoprotective activities compared with the positive control bicyclol at concentrations of 1×10(-5)M.

Topics: Biphenyl Compounds; Carbohydrate Sequence; Circular Dichroism; Convolvulaceae; Coumarins; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Galactosamine; Glycosides; Hepatocytes; Humans; Lignans; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Molecular Sequence Data; Plant Extracts; Plant Stems; Protective Agents; Terpenes