Research On Chemical Constituents Of Cinnamomum Cassia Presl And Cinnamomum Porrectum(Roxb.) Kosterm

Nrf2(NF-E2-related factor 2) was a key transcription factor for regulating human redox state and it defended the damage caused by oxidative stress and enhanced cellular defensive capacity. Preliminary study indicated that the extracts of Cinnamomum cassia Presl and Cinnamomum porrectum(Roxb.) Kosterm potently induced Nrf2 pathway, thus the two plants have been phytochemically investigated to obtain Nrf2 inducers from natural resources. A total of 27 compounds were obtained by column chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 together with preparative HPLC. With the aid of thin-layer chromatography to identify the purity of the components, the structures were determined on the basis of 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and X-ray single crystal diffraction techniques.Twenty-two known compounds were isolated from the PE and EtOAc parts of ethanol extract of C.cassia, including eight phenolic acids: 5-hydroxyethyl salicylate(1), syringaldehyde(2), p-hydroxybenzoic acid(3), isovanillic acid(4), protocatechuic acid(5), protocatechualdehyde(6), vanillin(7), vanillic acid(8), four phenylpropanoids: cinnamaldehyde(9), cinnamyl alcohol(10), cinnamic acid(11), sinapaldehyde(12), two sesquiterpenoids: litseachromolaevanes A(13), 4-hydroxy-1, 10-seco-muurol-5-ene-1, 10-dione(14), two lignans: pinoresinol(15), syringaresinol(16), two coumarins: coumarin(17), 4-hydroxymellein(18), a flavonoid: kaempferol(19), a flavanol:(-)-(2R, 3R)- 5, 7-dimethoxy-3′, 4′-methylenedioxy-flavan-3-ol(20), a steride: β-sitosterol(21) and a α, β-unsaturated-γ-butyrolactone: decumbic acid(22). Among them,compounds 13, 18 and 22 were obtained from the genus of Cinnamomum for the first time.Five known compounds, including two flavonoids kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside(23) and quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside(24), a chromene(3R, 4R, 3′R, 4′R)-6, 6′-dimethoxy-3, 4, 3′, 4′-tetrahydro-2H, 2′H-[3, 3′]bichromenyl-4, 4′-diol(25), two sterides β-sitosterol(26) and daucosterol(27) were obtained from the PE and EtOAc parts of ethanol extract of C.porrectum, all of which were obtained from this plant for the first time.MTT method was adopted to test the effects of some selected compounds on tumor cell proliferation. No obvious toxicities towards Hep G2 and MBA-MD-231 cell lines under 40 μg/mL were observed. Among them, compound 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 16, 17, 18 and 19 can promote the proliferation of Hep G2. Furthermore, compound 24 enhanced the proliferation of the above two cell lines, both of which provided a preliminary foundation for further research on the discovery and mechanism towards Nrf2 activitors.