Four new steroidal compounds possessing a rare 13,14-seco-16,24-cycloergostane skeleton, physalin Y ( 1), physalin Z ( 2), physalin I ( 6), and physalin II ( 7), were isolated from the 80% EtOH extract of calyces from Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii together with 11 known steroids ( 3- 5 and 8- 15) and eight flavonoids ( 16- 23). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated primarily on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic studies. The relative configuration of the 3-OH group of 3, 4, and 5 was also established or re-established. The inhibitory effects of compounds 1- 23 on nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccaride-activated macrophages were evaluated.

Steroids and flavonoids from Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii and their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production.

Increase in cases of various cancers has encouraged the researchers to discover novel, more effective drugs from plant sources. This study is a review of medicinal plants in Iran with already investigated anticancer effects on various cell lines. Thirty-six medicinal plants alongside their products with anticancer effects as well as the most important plant compounds responsible for the plants' anticancer effect were introduced. Phenolic and alkaloid compounds were demonstrated to have anticancer effects on various cancers in most studies. The plants and their active compounds exerted anticancer effects by removing free radicals and antioxidant effects, cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis, and inhibition of angiogenesis. The investigated plants in Iran contain the compounds that are able to contribute effectively to fighting cancer cells. Therefore, the extract and active compounds of the medicinal plants introduced in this review article could open a way to conduct clinical trials on cancer and greatly help researchers and pharmacists develop new anticancer drugs.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2156587215600873

A Systematic Review of Iran's Medicinal Plants With Anticancer Effects.

Withasteroids are a group of naturally occurring C28-steroidal lactones built on an intact or rearranged ergostane framework Withaferin A (64), the first member of this group of compounds, was isolated (1) from the well-known Indian medicinal plant, Withania somnifera (Sanskrit: Aswagandha) and its structure was fully elucidated by Lavie and coworkers in 1965 (2) The structural novelty and interesting biological activities (3) elicited by this compound led to a thorough chemical investigation of the plant and numerous compounds having similar structural features were isolated These C28-steroidal lactones characterised by a nine carbon side chain with a six membered ring lactone were designated as ‘withanolides’after the name of the plant genus (4) The withanolide skeleton may therefore, be defined as 22-hydroxyergostan-26-oic acid 26,22-lactone (I) and using this trivial name, withaferin A (64) may be designated as 4β, 27-dihydroxy-5β, 6β-epoxy-l-oxowitha-2,24-dienolide, the nomenclature that has been most widely adopted However, many structurally related C28-steroidal lactones which do not conform to the above definition have also been referred to as with-anolides (5), a practice giving rise to confusion Also, there are many novel structural variants of withanolides with modifications either of the carbocyclic skeleton or of the side chain and these have often been described as modified withanolides or ergostane-type steroids related to withanolides

Withasteroids, a Growing Group of Naturally Occurring Steroidal Lactones

Physalin A induces apoptosis via p53-Noxa-mediated ROS generation, and autophagy plays a protective role against apoptosis through p38-NF-κB survival pathway in A375-S2 cells

Physalis alkekengi L. (Solanaceae) is a popular plant in traditional European and Chinese folk medicine, and it has been reported to have many ethnopharmacological properties including antifungal, anti-cough, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and febricide activities. Some active components from Physalis species have been investigated. However, no antimicrobial activity studies on extracts and physalins of P. alkekengi have been carried out. In this study, we attempted to identify the possible antimicrobial activities of the methanol extract from aerial parts of P. alkekengi and the dichloromethane extract from calyces of the plant. The extracts were tested against five Gram-positive and five Gram-negative bacteria and five Candida species by using disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The extracts were fractionated to isolate physalins using chromatographic techniques, and physalin D was isolated from the extracts. The structure of the compound was elucidated on the basis of (1)H-NMR spectroscopic study, and confirmed by comparison with a reference sample and literature data. Results indicated that all the extracts and physalin D were characterized by antibacterial action, especially against Gram-positive bacteria, with MIC values between 32 and 128 microg/mL. The methanol extract had moderate activity against fungi at MICs ranging from 128 to 512 microg/mL, but the dichloromethane extract and physalin D had low activity against fungi at MICs ranging from 256 to 512 microg/mL. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of physalin D was evaluated by qualitative DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical and TBA (thiobarbituric acid) assays. Physalin D showed low antioxidant activity with an IC(50) value of >or= 10 +/- 2.1.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3109/13880200903062606

Antimicrobial activity of the extracts and physalin D from Physalis alkekengi and evaluation of antioxidant potential of physalin D.

Physalins N and O from Physalis alkekengi

The structure of physalin M, isolated from Physalis alkekengi var. francheti was determined as 7-deoxyphysalin L by spectroscopic studies and chemica correlation with a known compound. Physalin M exhibitec weak cytotoxicity against tumor cells.

Toichi Ogura

Papers

Physalins N and O from Physalis alkekengi

Structure of Physalin M Isolated from Physalis alkekengi var. francheti