The bitter melon, Momordica charantia L., was once an important food and medicinal herb. Various studies have focused on the potential treatment of stomach disease with M. charantia and on its anti-diabetic properties. However, very little is known about the specific compounds responsible for its anti-inflammatory activities. In addition, the in vitro inhibitory effect of M. charantia on pro-inflammatory cytokine production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) has not been reported. Phytochemical investigation of M. charantia fruit led to the isolation of 15 compounds (1−15). Their chemical structures were elucidated spectroscopically (one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance) and with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The anti-inflammatory effects of the isolated compounds were evaluated by measuring the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin IL-6, IL-12 p40, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in LPS-stimulated BMDCs. The cucurbitanes were potent inhibitors of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-12 p40, indicating promising anti-inflammatory effects. Based on these studies and in silico simulations, we determined that the ligand likely docked in the receptors. These results suggest that cucurbitanes from M. charantia are potential candidates for treating inflammatory diseases.

The spectral reflectance technique for the quantification of the functional components was applied in different studies for different crops, but related research on kale leaves is limited. This study was conducted to estimate the glucosinolate and anthocyanin components of kale leaves cultivated in a plant factory based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy through regression methods. Kale was grown in a plant factory under different treatments. After specific periods of transplantation, leaf samples were collected, and reflectance spectra were measured immediately from nine different points on each leaf. The same leaf samples were freeze-dried and stored for analysis of the functional components. Regression procedures, such as principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares regression (PLSR), and stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR), were applied to relate the functional components with the spectral data. In the laboratory analysis, progoitrin and glucobrassicin, as well as cyanidin and malvidin, were found to be dominating components in glucosinolates and anthocyanins, respectively. From the overall analysis, the SMLR model showed better performance, and the identified wavelengths for estimating the glucosinolates and anthocyanins were in the early near-infrared (NIR) region. Specifically, reflectance at 742, 761, 787, 796, 805, 833, 855, 932, 947, and 1000 nm showed a strong correlation.

Helicteres hirsuta Lour. is a traditional Vietnamese medicine for treating chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Many in vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that the extracts and isolated compounds from H. hirsuta have diverse pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. However, the hepatoprotective effects have not been reported until now. Therefore, the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the aerial part of the H. hirsuta L. (HHM and HHE-1/1) were examined on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in rats for the first time. The results revealed that all the livers of the model group had stage F4 cirrhosis; the group that received silymarin, and HHM and HHE-1/1 had milder liver damage cirrhosis stage F1-F2 which implies that the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of H. hirsute have a definite advantage in the development of food or oral medications for hepatoprotective activity.

Gnetum formosum Markgr., a member of the Gnetaceae family, is distributed in Vietnam. This plant remains a botanical enigma with an unexplored diversity of chemical constituents and pharmacological effects. In this study, two new steroidal saponins, namely gnetumosides A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the aerial parts of G. formosum. Their chemical structures were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques, including high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) and NMR, along with chemical hydrolysis and comparison with the reported literature. The potential anti-inflammatory effects of the isolated compounds were evaluated by measuring lipopolysaccharide-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in murine macrophage cells. Notably, compound 1 exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 14.10 ± 0.75 µM), comparable to dexamethasone. Additionally, the mechanisms underlying the observed anti-inflammatory effects were investigated through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins. This study is the first to investigate the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of G. formosum.