A triflavanone, Garcineflavanone A (1) and a biflavonol, Garcineflavonol A (2) have been isolated from the stem bark of Garcinia atroviridis (Clusiaceae), collected in Peninsular Malaysia. Their structures were established using one and two-dimensional NMR, UV, IR and mass spectrometry and evaluated in vitro for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes inhibitory activity. Molecular docking studies of the isolated compounds were performed using docking procedure of AutoDock to disclose the binding interaction and orientation of these molecules into the active site gorge.
Temperature is one of the key factors in limiting the distribution of plants and controlling major metabolic processes. A series of simulated reciprocal transplant experiments were performed to investigate the effect of temperature on plant chemical composition. Polygonum minus of different lowland and highland origin were grown under a controlled environment with different temperature regimes to study the effects on secondary metabolites. We applied gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry to identify the chemical compounds. A total of 37 volatile organic compounds and 85 flavonoids were detected, with the largest response observed in the compositional changes of aldehydes and terpenes in highland plants under higher temperature treatment. Significantly less anthocyanidin compounds and larger amounts of flavonols were detected under higher temperature treatment. We also studied natural variation in the different plant populations growing under the same environment and identified compounds unique to each population through metabolite fingerprinting. This study shows that the origin of different plant populations influences the effects of temperature on chemical composition.
The rhizomes of Zingiber spectabile yielded a new dimeric flavonol glycoside for which the name kaempferol-3-O-(4″-O-acetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside-(I-6,II-8)-kaempferol-3-O-(4″-O-acetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside; spectaflavoside A (1) was proposed, along with kaempferol and its four acetylrhamnosides (2-6), demethoxycurcumin (7) and curcumin (8). The structure of spectaflavoside A was elucidated by spectroscopic methods including, 1D and 2D NMR techniques. This is the first report on the occurrence of a dimeric flavonol glycoside in the Zingiberaceae and the second in nature. Spectaflavoside A was found to be a potent iron chelating agent.
Galloylated flavonol rhamnosides identified as kaempferol-3-O-(2″,3″,4″-tri-O-galloyl)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-(3″,4″-di-O-galloyl)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside, and quercetin-3-O-(2″,3″,4″-tri-O-galloyl)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside, together with five known galloylated and non-galloylated flavonol rhamnosides, were isolated from leaves of Calliandra tergemina (L.) Benth. Their structures were established using spectroscopic methods and their antibacterial activities against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were evaluated by a microdilution method.
Gneyulins A (1) and B (2), two new stilbene trimers consisting of oxyresveratrol constituent units, and noidesols A (3) and B (4), two new dihydroflavonol-C-glucosides, were isolated from the bark of Gnetum gnemonoides. The structures and configurations of 1-4 were elucidated on the basis of 2D NMR correlations and X-ray analysis. Gneyulins A (1) and B (2) showed inhibition of Na(+)-glucose transporters (SGLT-1 and SGLT-2).