Ten new Lycopodium alkaloids having the lycopodane skeleton isolated from Lycopodium serratum Thunb.
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Ten new alkaloids, lycoposerramines-F (1), -G (2), -H (3), -I (4), -J (5), -K (6), -L (7), -M (8), -N (9), and -O (10), having lycopodine-related structures, were isolated from the club moss Lycopodium serratum THUNB. and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and/or chemical transformation. (+info)
High sensitivity 1H-NMR spectroscopy of homeopathic remedies made in water.
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BACKGROUND: The efficacy of homeopathy is controversial. Homeopathic remedies are made via iterated shaking and dilution, in ethanol or in water, from a starting substance. Remedies of potency 12 C or higher are ultra-dilute (UD), i.e. contain zero molecules of the starting material. Various hypotheses have been advanced to explain how a UD remedy might be different from unprepared solvent. One such hypothesis posits that a remedy contains stable clusters, i.e. localized regions where one or more hydrogen bonds remain fixed on a long time scale. High sensitivity proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has not previously been used to look for evidence of differences between UD remedies and controls. METHODS: Homeopathic remedies made in water were studied via high sensitivity proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A total of 57 remedy samples representing six starting materials and spanning a variety of potencies from 6 C to 10 M were tested along with 46 controls. RESULTS: By presaturating on the water peak, signals could be reliably detected that represented H-containing species at concentrations as low as 5 microM. There were 35 positions where a discrete signal was seen in one or more of the 103 spectra, which should theoretically have been absent from the spectrum of pure water. Of these 35, fifteen were identified as machine-generated artifacts, eight were identified as trace levels of organic contaminants, and twelve were unexplained. Of the unexplained signals, six were seen in just one spectrum each. None of the artifacts or unexplained signals occurred more frequently in remedies than in controls, using a p < .05 cutoff. Some commercially prepared samples were found to contain traces of one or more of these small organic molecules: ethanol, acetate, formate, methanol, and acetone. CONCLUSION: No discrete signals suggesting a difference between remedies and controls were seen, via high sensitivity 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The results failed to support a hypothesis that remedies made in water contain long-lived non-dynamic alterations of the H-bonding pattern of the solvent. (+info)
Effect of homeopathic medicines on transplanted tumors in mice.
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Ultra low doses used in homeopathic medicines are reported to have healing potential for various diseases but their action remains controversial. In this study we have investigated the antitumour and antimetastatic activity of selected homeopathic medicines against transplanted tumours in mice. It was found that Ruta graveolens 200c and Hydrastis canadensis 200c significantly increased the lifespan of Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma and Dalton's Lymphoma Ascites induced tumour-bearing animals by 49.7%, and 69.4% respectively. Moreover there was 95.6% and 95.8% reduction of solid tumour volume in Ruta 200c and Hydrastis 200c treated animals on the 31st day after tumour inoculation. Hydrastis 1M given orally significantly inhibited the growth of developed solid tumours produced by DLA cells and increased the lifespan of tumour bearing animals. Some 9 out of 15 animals with developed tumors were completely tumour free after treatment with Hydrastis 1M. Significant anti-metastatic activity was also found in B16F-10 melanoma-bearing animals treated with Thuja1M, Hydrastis 1M and Lycopodium1M. This was evident from the inhibition of lung tumour nodule formation, morphological and histopathological analysis of lung and decreased levels of gamma-GT in serum, a cellular marker of proliferation. These findings support that homeopathic preparations of Ruta and Hydrastis have significant antitumour activity. The mechanism of action of these medicines is not known at present. (+info)
Enantioselective total syntheses of nankakurines A and B: confirmation of structure and establishment of absolute configuration.
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Malycorins A--C, New lycopodium alkaloids from Lycopodium phlegmaria.
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A novel C(19)N-type Lycopodium alkaloid, malycorin A (1) consisting of a serratinane skeleton with 2-propanol unit has been isolated from the club moss Lycopodium phlegmaria, together with two new C(16)N-type alkaloids, malycorins B (2) and C (3), and the structures and relative stereochemistry were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. (+info)
Total synthesis of the lycopodium alkaloid (+)-serratezomine A.
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Drug-induced liver injury due to "natural products" used for weight loss: a case report.
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Taking herbal-extracts to lose weight is an underestimated health hazard. Often, these products contain active agents that can cause acute liver damage. In this case report, a 22-year-old female patient, who presented with a feature of cholestatic syndrome, was so sure that the "natural products" were not dangerous that she did not inform her physicians that she had taken them, making their task that much more challenging. Clinical presentation mimicked acute cholecystitis and the patient underwent a cholecystectomy. Surgery was without any consequences and complications, although it did not completely cure the illness. She later admitted to having taken herbal remedies and this led to the correct diagnosis of phytotherapy-related hepatotoxicity and a successful therapeutic approach. The true incidence of phytotherapy-related hepatotoxicity and its pathogenic mechanisms are largely unknown. It is important to increase the awareness of both clinicians and patients about the potential dangers of herbal remedies. (+info)
Lannotinidines H-J, new Lycopodium alkaloids from Lycopodium annotinum.
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Three new Lycopodium alkaloids, lannotinidines H-J (1-3), were isolated from the club moss Lycopodium annotinum. The structures and relative stereochemistry of 1-3 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data and the absolute stereochemistry of 2 was assigned by chemical correlation. Lannotinidine H (1) is the first Lycopodium alkaloid possessing a lycopodane skeleton with an additional C(3) unit. (+info)