Phytochemicals were isolated from leaves of the fiber crop, ramie (Boehmeria nivea, Bn), using open column chromatography and medium pressure liquid chromatography. Their structures were identified as β-sitosterol, (-)-loliolide, rutin, and pyrimidinedione by MS, ¹H-, and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopic analysis. Among them, (-)-loliolide was isolated for the first time from B. nivea. A content analysis of (-)-loliolide in B. nivea collected from different regions and harvest times was conducted by HPLC. The highest content of (-)-loliolide was found in Bn-23 harvested in September. These results will be helpful to use the plant which harvest in September as a high content phytochemical additive in food, health supplements, and medicinal products.
Boehmeria* ; Chromatography ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Phytochemicals ; Plants ; Rutin ; Urticaceae

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of Memorialis hirta.

METHODCompounds were isolated and purified by multiple methods, and their structures were identified based on physicochemical property and spectrum data.

RESULT12 compounds were isolated from ethyl acetate from 95% ethanol extracts of M. hirta, they were isorhamnetin (1), kaempferol (2), quercetin (3), isorhamnetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (4), kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (5), isorhamnetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6), kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7), quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (8), quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (9), isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside (10), kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (11) and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (12), respectively.

CONCLUSIONAll compounds were obtained from the genus Memorialis for the first time.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Urticaceae ; chemistry

Pellionia scabra belongs to the genus Pellionia in the family of Urticaceae, and is a high-quality wild vegetables with high nutritional value. In this study, high-throughput techniques were used to sequence, assemble and annotate the chloroplast genome. We also analyzed its structure, and construct the phylogenetic trees from the P. scabra to further study the chloroplast genome characteristics. The results showed that the chloroplast genome size was 153 220 bp, and the GC content was 36.4%, which belonged to the typical tetrad structure in P. scabra. The chloroplast genome encodes 130 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes in P. scabra. Among them, 15 genes contained 1 intron, 2 genes contained 2 introns, and rps12 had trans-splicing, respectively. In P. scabra, chloroplast genomes could be divided into four categories, including 43 photosynthesis, 64 self-replication, other 7 coding proteins, and 4 unknown functions. A total of 51 073 codons were detected in the chloroplast genome, among which the codon encoding leucine (Leu) accounted for the largest proportion, and the codon preferred to use A and U bases. There were 72 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the chloroplast genome of P. scabra, containing 58 single nucleotides, 12 dinucleotides, 1 trinucleotide, and 1 tetranucleotide. The ycf1 gene expansion was present at the IRb/SSC boundary. The phylogenetic trees showed that P. scabra (OL800583) was most closely related to Elatostema stewardii (MZ292972), Elatostema dissectum (MK227819) and Elatostema laevissimum var. laevissimum (MN189961). Taken together, our results provide worthwhile information for understanding the identification, genetic evolution, and genomics research of P. scabra species.
Phylogeny ; Genome, Chloroplast/genetics* ; Genomics ; Chloroplasts/genetics* ; Codon ; Urticaceae/genetics*

Irritant dermatitis is the most frequent type of plant-related dermatitis. Plant families most commonly associated with irritation are Ranunculaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Cruciferae, Brassicaceae, Urticaceae, and Solanaceae. We report a case of irritant contact dermatitis caused by Ranunculus japonicus for the treatment of arthralgia in a 78 year old female.
Aged ; Arthralgia ; Brassicaceae ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Dermatitis, Irritant* ; Euphorbiaceae ; Female ; Humans ; Plants ; Ranunculaceae ; Ranunculus* ; Solanaceae ; Urticaceae

This project is to study the metabolites of Laportea bulbifera extract in rat feces. After the SD rats were gavaged with the extract(136 g·kg~(-1), according to the crude drug dose), the metabolites in their feces were detected by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS~E technique, and the obtained mass spectrometry data was combined with UNIFI software for prediction. The prototype components and metabolites in rat feces were identified with reference materials and related literature. A total of 43 metabolites were identified(including 8 prototype components and 35 metabolites). The metabolic pathways mainly include monocaffeoylquinic acid(hydrogenation reduction, ring-opening cracking, sulfation, hydroxylation, glucuronidation), quercetin(O-C2 bond ring-opening cleavage, C2-C3 double bond reduction, rutin carbonylation) and so on. The metabolites and metabolic process of L. bulbifera extract in rat feces were clarified, which provided a basis for the study of the active substances and its mechanism of action.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Feces ; Plant Extracts ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Urticaceae

The present study investigated the material basis of Urtica fissa for the inhibition of benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH). The active fractions were screened, and the extracts of dichloromethane and ethyl acetate exhibited significantly inhibitory activities against 5α-reductase in vitro and BPH in model rats. The chemical constituents in the active fractions were systematically investigated, and 28 compounds were obtained, which were identified as lobechine methyl ester(1), dibutyl-O-phthalate(2), 1-monolinolein(3), epipinoresinol(4), 5-hydroxy-3,4-dimethyl-5-pentanyl-2(5H)-furanone(5), E-7,9-diene-11-methenyl palmitic acid(6), evofolin B(7), ficusal(8), threo-2,3-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-ethoxypropan-1-ol(9), α-viniferin(10),(9R,7E)-9-hydroxy-5,7-mengatigmadien-4-one-9-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(11), indole-3-carboxaldehyde(12), p-hydroxy ethyl cinnamate(13), benzyl alcohol-O-β-D-glucoside(14), L-methionine(15), 4-methoxyaniline(16), 6-aminopurine(17), 8'-acetyl oilvil(18), 4-methoxyl-8'-acetyl oilvil(19), vanillic acid(20), β-hydroxypropiovanillone(21), 7-hydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin(22), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde(23), pinoresinol(24), erythro-1,2-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-propanediol(25), urticol(26), urticol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(27), and lobechine(28). Compounds 1-17 were isolated from U. fissa for the first time. Meanwhile, compound 1 was a new natural product. Compounds 10, 11, 19, 21, and 27 exhibited significant inhibitory effects on 5α-reductase.
Animals ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Prostatic Hyperplasia/drug therapy* ; Rats ; Urticaceae/chemistry*

OBJECTIVETo investigate chemical constituents from folk herb Pilea cavaleriei subsp. cavaleriei.

METHODThe compounds were separated and purified by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and the like. The structures were identified by spectral methods such as (1)H, (13)C-NMR and MS.

RESULTSeventeen compounds were isolated and identified as benzoic acid (1), 4-hydroxy benzalde-hyde (2), coumaric acid(3), protocatechuic acid (4), gallic acid (5), 4-hydroxy benzoic acid (6), 3-indole carboxaldehyde (7), 3-indole carbo-xylicacid (8), 4-methyl-(1,2,3) -triazole(9), uracil(10), nicotinamide (11), (2S,E)-N-[2-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy phenyl) ethyl] ferulamide (12), (+) -dehydrovomifoliol (13), hentriantane (14), beta-sitosterol (15), palmitic acid (16), daucossterol (17) , respectively.

CONCLUSIONAll compounds were obtained from the genus for the first time.

Dextrans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Sitosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Urticaceae ; chemistry

This paper deals with the application of ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS) method to rapidly determine and analyze the chemical constituents of methanol extract of Urtica hyperborea. We employed UPLC YMC-Triart C18(2. 1 mm×100 mm,1. 9 μm) column to UPLC analysis with acetonitrile-water(containing 0. 4% formic acid) in gradient as mobile phase. The flow rate was 0. 3 m L·min-1 gradient elution and column temperature was 30℃; the injection volume was 4 μL. ESI ion source was used to ensure the data collected in anegative ion mode. The chemical components of U. hyperborea were identified through retention time,exact relative molecular mass,cleavage fragments of MS/MS and reported data.The results indicated that a total of 31 compounds were identified,including 8 flavonoids,14 phenolic compounds,8 phenylpropanoids(4 coumarins and 4 lignans),and 1 steroidal compound,13 of which were confirmed by comparison. The UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS method could rapid identify the chemical components of U. hyperborea. The above compounds were discovered in U. hyperborea for the first time,which could provide theoretical foundation for further research on the basis of the pharmacodynamics of U. hyperborea.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; Lignans ; Phenols ; Phytochemicals ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Urticaceae ; chemistry

The lignans in Urtica cannabina were isolated by preparative HPLC, silica, and ODS column chromatographies, and identified by NMR and HR-MS. The inhibitory activities on 5α-reductase were evaluated in vitro. As a result, ten secolignans,(2R,4S)-2,4-bis(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-butoxypropanol(1), 3,4-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-[bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)methyl] butyrolactone(2), 3,4-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-[(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl] butyrolactone(3), 3,4-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-[bis(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl] butyrolactone(trans urticol, 4), 3,4-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-[bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)methyl] butyrolactone-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(5), 3,4-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-[(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl]butyrolactone-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(6), 3,4-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-[bis(3-methoxyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl]butyrolactone-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(trans-urticol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, 7), cycloolivil-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(8), isolariciresinol-4'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(9), and olivil-4'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(10), together with a polyphenol [α-viniferin(11)], were isolated from U. cannabina for the first time. Compound 1 was a new lignan. Compound 7 was potent in inhibiting 5α-reductase.
5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors ; Cholestenone 5 alpha-Reductase/pharmacology* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Lignans/pharmacology* ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Urticaceae/enzymology*

Laportea bulbifera extract is effective in resisting inflammation and shows a good therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis in rats. However, the absorption characteristics of active components in L. bulbifera extract in Caco-2 cells are still unclear, which limits the in-depth development of L. bulbifera resources. The purpose of this study was to investigate the absorption and transport mechanism of the active components of L. bulbifera extract in the Caco-2 cell model and explore the effects of different factors(concentration, time, pH value, temperature, and efflux transporter inhibitor) on its uptake and transport. The results showed that L. bulbifera extract at the concentration of 2.0-8.0 mg·mL~(-1) showed no toxicity to Caco-2 cells. The uptake and transport of L. bulbifera extract in the Caco-2 cell model were concentration-dependent and time-dependent. The main absorption mechanism was passive diffusion, and acidic condition(pH 5.0-6.0) and 37 ℃ were more favorable for drug absorption. P_(app)>1.0×10~(-6 )cm·s~(-1) of each component indicated that L. bulbifera was a moderately absorbed drug. P-gp, MRP2, and BCRP were not involved in its uptake and transport.
Humans ; Rats ; Animals ; Caco-2 Cells ; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 2/genetics* ; Intestinal Absorption ; Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism* ; Urticaceae ; Biological Transport ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*