The purpose of this research was to investigate the chemical profile, nutritional quality, antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects of Mexican chia seed oil (CSO) in vitro. Chemical characterization of CSO indicated the content of α-linolenic acid (63.64% of total fatty acids) to be the highest, followed by linoleic acid (19.84%), and saturated fatty acid (less than 11%). Trilinolenin content (53.44% of total triacylglycerols (TAGs)) was found to be the highest among seven TAGs in CSO. The antioxidant capacity of CSO, evaluated with ABTS^•+ and DPPH^• methods, showed mild antioxidant capacity when compared with Tocopherol and Catechin. In addition, CSO was found to lower triglyceride (TG) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels by 25.8% and 72.9%respectively in a HepG2 lipid accumulation model. As CSO exhibits these chemical and biological characteristics, it is a potential resource of essential fatty acids for human use.

A series of benzimidazole carboxamide derivatives have been synthesized and characterized by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and HRMS. PARP inhibition assays and cellular proliferation assays have also been carried out. Compounds 5cj and 5cp exhibited potential anticancer activities with IC₅₀ values of about 4 nM against both PARP-1 and PARP-2, similar to the reference drug veliparib. The two compounds also displayed slightly better in vitro cytotoxicities against MDA-MB-436 and CAPAN-1 cell lines than veliparib and olaparib, with values of 17.4 µM and 11.4 µM, 19.8 µM and 15.5 µM, respectively. The structure-activity relationship based on molecular docking was discussed as well.

Previous studies have reported that recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α has powerful antiviral activity but severe systematic side effects. Jasminin is a common bioactive component found in Chinese herbal medicine beverage “Jasmine Tea”. Here, we report that jasminin-induced endogenous TNF-α showed antiviral activity in vitro. The underlying TNF-α-inducing action of jasminin was also investigated in RAW264.7 cells. The level of endogenous TNF-α stimulated by jasminin was first analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from the cell culture supernatant of RAW264.7 cells. The supernatants were then collected to investigate the potential antiviral effect against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). The antiviral effects of jasminin alone or its supernatants were evaluated by a plaque reduction assay. The potential activation of the PI3K–Akt pathway, three main mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and nuclear factor (NF)–κB signaling pathways that induce TNF-α production were also investigated. Jasminin induces TNF-α protein expression in RAW264.7 cells without additional stimuli 10-fold more than the control. No significant up-expression of type I, II, and III interferons; interleukins 2 and 10; nor TNF-β were observed by the jasminin stimuli. The supernatants, containing jasminin-induced-TNF-α, showed antiviral activity against HSV-1. The jasminin-stimulated cells caused the simultaneous activation of the Akt, MAPKs, and NF–κB signal pathways. Furthermore, the pretreatment of the cells with the Akt, MAPKs, and NF–κB inhibitors effectively suppressed jasminin-induced TNF-α production. Our research provides evidence that endogenous TNF-α can be used as a strategy to encounter viral infections. Additionally, the Akt, MAPKs, and NF–κB signaling pathways are involved in the TNF-α synthesis that induced by jasminin.

The dichloromethane extract of the roots of Bridelia balansae Tutcher (Phyllanthaceae) was found to show potential anticancer activity against HCT116 colorectal cancer cell. Our bioassay-guided phytochemical investigation of the roots of B. balansae led to the identification of 14 compounds including seven lignans (1–7), three phenylbenzene derivatives (8–10), two flavanone (11–12), and two triterpenoids (13–14). Among them, 4′-demethyl-4-deoxypodophyllotoxin (1) is the first aryltetralin lignan compound identified from this plant species. In addition, the stereochemistry of 1 was validated by X-ray crystallography for the first time, and its distinguished cytotoxic effect on HCT116 cells with an IC₅₀ value at 20 nM was induced via an apoptosis induction mechanism. Compound 1 could also significantly decrease the migration rate of HCT116 cells, indicating its potential application against cancer metastasis. The western blot analysis showed that 1 has the potential to inhibit cell proliferation and metastasis. Treatment of 1 resulted in the downregulation of matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP2) and p-Akt, while p21 was upregulated. Collectively, the present study on the phytochemical and biological profile of B. balansae has determined the plant as a useful source to produce promising anticancer lead compounds.