Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder which is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidities in elderly humans. Chronic diabetes can lead to kidney failure, blindness, limb amputation, heart attack and stroke. Physical activity, healthy diets and medications can reduce the incidence of diabetes, so the search for more efficient antidiabetic therapies, most especially from natural products, is a necessity. Herein, extract from roots of the medicinal plant Pterocarpus erinaceus was purified by column chromatography and afforded ten compounds which were characterized by EIMS, HR-FAB-MS, 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Amongst them were, a new trimeric derivative of epicatechin, named 2,3-Epoxyprocyanidin C1 (1); two pentacyclic triterpenoids, friedelin (2) and betulin (3); angolensin (4); flavonoids such as 7-methoxygenistein (5), 7-methoxydaidzein (6), apigenin 7-O-glucoronide (8) and naringenin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (9); and an ellagic acid derivative (10). The extract and compounds were evaluated for their antidiabetic potential by α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays. IC₅₀ values of compound 7 (48.1 ± 0.9 µg/mL), compound 8 (48.6 ± 0.1 µg/mL), compound 9 (50.2 ± 0.5 µg/mL) and extract (40.5 ± 0.8 µg/mL) when compared to that of acarbose (26.4 ± 0.3 µg/mL) indicated good α-amylase inhibition. In the α-glucosidase assay, the extract (IC₅₀ = 31.2 ± 0.1 µg/mL), compound 7 (IC₅₀ = 39.5 ± 1.2 µg/mL), compound 8 (IC₅₀ = 40.9 ± 1.3 µg/mL), compound 1 (IC₅₀ = 41.6 ± 1.0 µg/mL), Compound 4 (IC₅₀ = 43.4 ± 0.5 µg/mL), compound 5 (IC₅₀ = 47.6 ± 0.9 µg/mL), compound 6 (IC₅₀ = 46.3 ± 0.2 µg/mL), compound 7 (IC₅₀ = 45.0 ± 0.8 µg/mL), compound 9 (IC₅₀ = 44.8 ± 0.6 µg/mL) and compound 11 (IC₅₀ = 47.5 ± 0.4 µg/mL) all had moderate-to-good inhibitions, compared to acarbose (IC₅₀ = 22.0 ± 0.5 µg/mL). The ability to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase indicates that P. erinaceus and its compounds can lower blood glucose levels by delaying hydrolysis of carbohydrates into sugars, thereby providing a source of natural antidiabetic remedy.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and diabetes are non-communicable diseases with global impacts. Inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) are suitable therapies for AD, while α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors are employed as antidiabetic agents. Compounds were isolated from the medicinal plant Terminalia macroptera and evaluated for their AChE, BChE, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase inhibitions. From ¹H and ¹³C NMR data, the compounds were identified as 3,3′-di-O-methyl ellagic acid (1), 3,3′,4′-tri-O-methyl ellagic acid-4-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (2), 3,3′,4′-tri-O-methyl ellagic acid-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), 3,3′-di-O-methyl ellagic acid-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside (5), shikimic acid (6), arjungenin (7), terminolic acid (8), 24-deoxysericoside (9), arjunglucoside I (10), and chebuloside II (11). The derivatives of ellagic acid (1–4) showed moderate to good inhibition of cholinesterases, with the most potent being 3,3′-di-O-methyl ellagic acid, with IC₅₀ values of 46.77 ± 0.90 µg/mL and 50.48 ± 1.10 µg/mL against AChE and BChE, respectively. The compounds exhibited potential inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, especially the phenolic compounds (1–5). Myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside had the highest α-amylase inhibition with an IC₅₀ value of 65.17 ± 0.43 µg/mL compared to acarbose with an IC₅₀ value of 32.25 ± 0.36 µg/mL. Two compounds, 3,3′-di-O-methyl ellagic acid (IC₅₀ = 74.18 ± 0.29 µg/mL) and myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside (IC₅₀ = 69.02 ± 0.65 µg/mL), were more active than the standard acarbose (IC₅₀ = 87.70 ± 0.68 µg/mL) in the α-glucosidase assay. For α-glucosidase and α-amylase, the molecular docking results for 1–11 reveal that these compounds may fit well into the binding sites of the target enzymes, establishing stable complexes with negative binding energies in the range of −4.03 to −10.20 kcalmol⁻¹. Though not all the compounds showed binding affinities with cholinesterases, some had negative binding energies, indicating that the inhibition was thermodynamically favorable.

A new abietane-type diterpenoid, rubesanolidic acid (1), alongside six known compounds including β-sitosterol (2), lupeol (3), betulinic acid (4) ursolic acid (5), β-sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6) and stigmasterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7) were isolated from the roots of Burkea africana through column chromatography. Their structures were elucidated from spectroscopic analyses (UV, IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR) data and by comparison with data from previous studies. The extract and compounds were tested for their α-amylase inhibition. The extract was more active than the isolated compounds with a percentage inhibition of 51.0 ± 2.5% at 400 µg/mL and was the only sample showing above 50% inhibition at this dose. Amongst the isolated compounds and at the dose of 400 µg/mL, the new diterpenoid Rubesanolidic acid exibited the highest percentage inhibition of α-amylase of 38.2 ± 2.0% while β-sitosterol showed the lowest inhibition of 9.6 ± 0.5%. The results indicate that B. africana is a potential source of antidiabetic compounds. Graphical Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a non-communicable disease with global impact. Inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) are suitable therapies for AD. In this work, we report the isolation of antiacetylcholinesterase compounds from the methylene chloride (DCM) extract of the medical fungus Ganoderma applanatum (Pers.) Pat (Ganodermataceae). Chemical evaluation of this extract using chromatographic technics led to the isolation of a (1:1) mixture of ergosterol (1) and stellasterol (2), palmitic acid (3), ganodermanondiol (4), lucidumol B (5) and lupeol (6). Structures of these compounds were determined using spectroscopic analysis such as IR, MS, 1D & 2D NMR and literature. The acetylation reaction has been performed on the mixture (1 + 2) and compound 4, leading to the obtention the mixture of 3-acetyl-ergosterol (7) and 3-acetylstellasterol (8) along with 24-acetyl-ganodermanondiol (9) respectively. Total phenolic content was determined for DCM, Ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts. To assess their antiradical scavenging potential, DPPH was used as free radical. The Inhibition power of acetylcholinesterase was evaluated in vitro using the Ellman reagent. Amongst all tested extracts, the DCM extract showed the high amount of total phenolic compounds with a value of 133.9512 mg EAG/g EX. The same extract showed a very good antiradical scavenging potential with an IC₅₀ of 0.0021 mg/mL. The mixture (1 + 2) showed the highest antiradical scavenging activity with IC₅₀ of 0.0770 mg/mL. The results obtained demonstrated that the acetylation has reduced the antiradical scavenging potential. Concerning the acetylcholinesterase inhibition power, the DCM extract and the mixture (1 + 2) showed a very good power with an inhibition percentage of 89%. The acetylation has also reduced the activity of the obtained derivative. The results provide insights into the potential efficacy of these compounds as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. The binding interactions of the isolated and acetylated derivatives against acetylcholinesterase protein (PBP 3i6m) of Torpedo californica were studied using Autodock software. Ergosterol (-11.9 kcal/mol) binds better to the protein biding site through significant pi-sigma interactions.

Background: Terminalia macroptera (Combretaceae) is an important medicinal plant in the traditional pharmacopeia in most tropical areas, where its different parts are used in treating illnesses including cancer. Aims: In this study, two oleanane‐type triterpenoids: terminolic acid (TM32) and arjungenin (TM34), together with three saponins: arjunglucoside I (TM35), 24‐deoxysericoside (TM36) and chebuloside II (TM37) from T. macroptera , were screened for their cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cell lines. Methods and Results: The compounds were isolated using column chromatography and characterized from their NMR data. Their cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects against estrogen non‐sensitive (MDA‐MB 231) and estrogen sensitive (MCF‐7) breast cancer cell lines were evaluated. Against estrogen non‐sensitive (MDA‐MB 231) cancer cell lines, deoxysericoside (TM36) was profoundly active compared to the control. Terminolic acid (TM32), arjungenin (TM34), and arjunglucoside I (TM35) were also active. Against estrogen sensitive (MCF‐7) breast cancer cell lines, deoxysericoside (TM36) exhibited significant activity ( p < 0.05) compared to control experiments. The most active compound had an optimum concentration of 30 μg/mL. Deoxysericoside (TM36) showed concentration‐dependent inhibition percentages at 15 and 30 μg/mL, and MDA‐MB 231 breast carcinoma cells were more susceptible. MDA‐MB 231 treated with 15 and 30 μg/mL of deoxysericoside (TM36) showed significant reduction ( p < 0.05) in clone formation after 48 h when compared to untreated controls, suggesting that it can restrict cancer to a preliminary stage. The deoxysericoside (TM36) reduced cell migration with dose‐dependent improvement in wound healing at 15 and 30 μg/mL, revealed by the micrographs. Molecular docking indicated that the compounds fit well into hERα and PI3Kα receptor binding sites, forming stable complexes with binding energies in ranges of −9.04 to −5.02 kcal mol ⁻¹ (hERα receptor) and −8.84 to −5.97 kcal mol ⁻¹ (PI3Kα receptor). The compounds exhibited appreciable drug likeness predicted using SwissADME. Conclusion: The studies showed that the isolated compounds could be used for the development of anticancer therapies.