A novel cytotoxic C-methylated biflavone, taiwanhomoflavone-B from the twigs of Cephalotaxus wilsoniana.
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A novel C-methylated biflavone, taiwanhomoflavone-B (1), together with known compounds, 7,4',7"-tri-O-methylamentoflavone, 6-C-methylnaringenin and apigenin-7-O-beta-glucoside were isolated from an ethanolic extract of Cephalotaxus wilsoniana. The structure of 1 was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Taiwanhomoflavone-B is cytotoxic with ED(50) values of 3.8 and 3.5 microg/ml, against KB oral epidermoid carcinoma and Hepa-3B hepatoma cells, respectively. (+info)
Investigation of the essential oils from three Cephalotaxus species.
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Essential oils from leaves of Cephalotaxus fortunei Hook., Cephalotaxus haningtonia K. Koch., Cephalotaxus sinensis Li. and variety Cephalotaxus harringtonia var. drupacea Koidz. underwent qualitative and quantitative analysis. The content of the oils obtained by hydrodistillation in the investigated species was 0.01 - 0.22% v/w. Gas chromatography (GC-MS) with flame ionisation detector (FID) showed generally 47 components in the essential oils. In all investigated species the presence of a-pinene varying from 18.4% to 35.1%, as well as sesquiterpene hydrocarbon beta-caryophyllene up to 22% at Cephalotaxus fortunei were revealed as the main components. (+info)
Antihyperglycemic effect of Cephalotaxus sinensis leaves and GLUT-4 translocation facilitating activity of its flavonoid constituents.
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The objectives of this study were to investigate the antihyperglycemic effect of Cephalotaxus sinensis leaves and to identify the active components. The antihyperglycemic effect of various fractions (FA, FB, FC, FD) of the 80% ethanol extract of the leaves was evaluated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Among the tested fractions, FC was the most active. FC (0.48 g/kg) given orally for 10 d reduced significantly (p<0.001) the blood glucose of STZ-induced diabetic rats. The food and water intakes of FC (0.48 g/kg)-treated diabetic rats were reduced significantly (p<0.001) when compared to the 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-treated diabetic rats. The activity-guided fractionation of the ethanol extract of C. sinensis leaves furnished three flavonoid compounds, apigenin-5-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-6-O-beta-D-acetylglucopyranoside] (1), apigenin (2), and apigenin-5-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-6-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside] (3). The elevation of GLUT-4 protein level in membrane preparations from mice adipocytes was detected by Western blot analysis after adipocytes were pre-incubated with FC (0.1, 1, 10 mg/ml), apigenin (0.1, 2 mg/ml) and apigenin-5-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-6-O-beta-D-acetylglucopyranoside] (0.1, 2 mg/ml), respectively. Phytochemical investigation and HPLC-DAD analysis of FC indicated that the flavonoids were the major constituents in this fraction. These results suggest that the fraction from C. sinensis leaves is a promising drug for the treatment of diabetes, and that the flavonoids from this plant are the active constituents. (+info)
Actinopolymorpha cephalotaxi sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from rhizosphere soil of the plant Cephalotaxus fortunei.
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The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Cephalotaxus oliveri (Cephalotaxaceae): evolutionary comparison of cephalotaxus chloroplast DNAs and insights into the loss of inverted repeat copies in gymnosperms.
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