Abstract A new iridoid glycoside, barlupulin C methyl ester (1), together with two known phenylethanoid glycosides (2 and 3) and three known simple phenolic glycosides (4-6) were isolated from the aerial parts of Barleria lupulina Lindl., Acanthaceae. The structure of the new compound (1) was elucidated through 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data, and HR-ESIMS. Interestingly, compound (1) has a formate group attached to the C-6 hydroxy group of the glucose unit. Compounds 2-6 were identified as poliumoside (2), decaffeoylacteoside (3), protocatechuic acid 4-O-β-glucoside (4), vanillic acid 4-O-β-glucoside (5), and leonuriside A (6) on the basis of NMR spectroscopic data analyses and comparison with those reported in the literature. Compounds 3-6 were isolated from B. lupulina for the first time.

A new furostanol saponin, ophiopogonin T, was isolated from the tubers of Ophiopogon japonicus. Its structure was established by extensive spectroscopic techniques including 1D (1H and 13C) and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments (correlation spectroscopy (COSY), heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC) and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY)), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESIMS), and chemical methods. Using cell-based assays, this compound was evaluated for its cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines and its protective effect against anticancer drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity in porcine kidney (LLC-PK1) cells was significantly reduced upon treatment with ophiopogonin T, without affecting human hepatoma (HepG2) cancer cell proliferation or tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). These results collectively reflect the beneficial effect of ophiopogonin T on the side effects of cisplatin.

As part of our ongoing search for bioactive constituents of natural Korean medicinal resources, a bioassay-guided fractionation and chemical investigation of the MeOH extract of Raphanus sativus (Brassicaceae) seeds resulted in the isolation and identification of fifteen compounds, including a new phenolic compound. The structure of the new compound was determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and the Mosher's method. One of the compounds has been recently reported as a synthetic product. Some compounds showed moderate antiproliferative activities against the tumor cell lines A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT-15 with IC50 values in the range of 5.62 to 28.88 μM. Moreover, the anti-neuroinflammatory activities of the isolates were determined by measuring the nitric oxide (NO) levels in the medium using murine microglia BV-2 cells. With exception of one specific compound, all the others inhibited the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated NO production (IC50 values < 200 μM).