Upon emergence of modern anticancer therapy, medical community is divided into two opposite camps, one of them claiming absolute necessity of using isolated or synthesized chemical compounds for efficient patient treatment and another one advocating alternative cancer therapies, in particular those based on natural sources, including extracts from plants. It seems, in reality, that the two camps are reconcilable:while natural sources, plant extracts or juices play both curative and protective role, drugs represent the ultimate possibility to inhibit or reverse tumor development. In this paper we tried to analyze anti-breast cancer potencies of quite a few extracts from different plant sources and to compare their anti-proliferative efficiency of crude extracts with actions of their purified ingredients.

Two new steroids, 3α, 17α, 19, 20-tetrahydroxy-4α-methylpregn-8-ene(1) and 3α, 12α, 17α, 20-tetrahydroxy-4α-methylpregn-8-ene(2) and three new sesquiterpenoids, 12-hydroxy-α-cadinol(3), 3α, 12-dihydroxy-δ-cadinol(4), and 3α, 6α-dihydroxyspiroax-4-ene(5), have been isolated from cultures of the fungus Phellinus igniarius. Their structures were characterized based on extensive spectroscopic data. In preliminary in vitro assays, compounds 3 and 4 exhibited the vascular-activities against phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction with the relaxing rates of 11.0% and 7.0% at 3×10^-4 M, respectively.

Four new sesquiterpenoids, namely 12-hydroxy-3-oxodrimenol(1), 11-hydroxyacetoxydrim-7-en-3β-ol(2), 2, 6-dimethyl-7, 10-epoxy-10-hydroxymethyldodeca-2, 11-dien-6-ol(3), and 7, 10-epoxy-2, 6, 10-trimethyldodeca-2, 11-diene-4, 6-diol(4), along with fourteen known compounds, were isolated from the cultures of Phellinidium sulphurascens. The structures of compounds 1-4 were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. All of them were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities.

This study evaluated toxic efficacy of Eupatorium adenophorum extracts, against the Kunming mice. In acute study, we firstly tested median lethal dose(LD₅₀) in mice of three cadinene sesquiterpenes 2-deoxo-2-(acetyloxy)-9-oxoageraphorone(DAOA), 9-oxo-agerophorone(OA) and 9-oxo-10, 11-dehydro-agerophorone(ODA) from Eupatorium adenophorum(Ea). DAOA(215-4640 mg/kg BW, given orally) showed lowest LD₅₀ at 926 mg/kg BW for male mice in contrast with OA(1470 mg/kg BW) and ODA(1470 mg/kg BW). In sub-acute study, repeated doses(75-300 mg/kg BW, for 7 days) of DAOA/OA increased blood parameters, liver and spleen index in dose dependent relationship, along with decrease in thymus index. The blood biochemical and histopathological examination showed that DAOA/OA dose 300 mg/kg BW significantly causes pathological changes of hepatic lobules and hepatocytes, which are consistent with cholestasis and hepatic injury. 75 mg/kg dose of DAOA/OA was found to be approximately/totally safe over the span of 7 days treatment showing no change in all above described parameters. Cadinene sesquiterpenes guarantee low risk to environment as a type of low toxic botanical components, which may find potential application in biopesticides development field.

The concise building of the spiroketal core of acortatarin-type alkaloids as potential therapeutic agents in diabetic nephropathy was established in four steps, through a tandem N-alkylation/hemiacetalization between pyrrole units and the corresponding halo alcohols generated by convenient halomethylation of chiral lactones from natural aldoses.

Engleromyces goetzii is a traditional medicinal mushroom that is widely used to treat infection, inflammation and cancer in Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China. Two new trichothecenes, engleromycones A and B(1 and 2), one new cuparane-type sesquiterpenoid named infuscol F(11), eight known trichothecene analogs, sambucinol(3), 3-deoxysambucinol(4), trichothecolone(5), trichodermol(6), 8-deoxytrichothecin(7), trichothecin(8), trichothecinol B(9) and trichothecinol A(10), and one known cyclopentanoid sesquiterpene cyclonerodiol(12) were isolated from the cultures of E. goetzii. The new compounds were elucidated through spectroscopic analyses. The anticancer effects of trichothecenes 1-10 were examined in the HL-60, SMMC-7721, A549, MCF-7, and SW-480 human cancer cell lines using an MTT assay. Trichothecinol A(10) significantly inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 0.006 μM, which was comparable to the cytotoxic activity of the positive control, paclitaxel, indicating that trichothecinol A(10) represents a potential anticancer agent.

Two new compounds, maniesculentins A(1) and B(6), together with four known ones were isolated from the stems of Manihot esculenta Crantz. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods including NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The two new compounds(1, 6) were assayed for antibacterial activity against four tested bacteria lines.