Dehydroeburicoic acid monoacetate

Cytotoxic Constituents from the Sclerotia of Poria cocos against Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells by Inducing Mitochondrial Apoptosis.[Pubmed:30149516]

Cells. 2018 Aug 24;7(9):116.

Previous studies have revealed the antitumor potential of Poria cocos Wolf against a broad spectrum of cancers. However, the biological activity of P. cocos against lung cancer, which is known as the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, and its underlying chemical and molecular basis, remain to be investigated. We aimed to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity of P. cocos toward human lung adenocarcinoma cells with different p53 statuses, to identify the bioactive constituents of P. cocos, and explicate the molecular mechanisms underlying the cytotoxicity of these constituents in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. An EtOH extract of the sclerotia of P. cocos exhibited cytotoxicity toward four human lung cancer cell lines: A549, H1264, H1299, and Calu-6, regardless of their p53 status. Chemical investigation of the extract resulted in the isolation of two triterpenoids, Dehydroeburicoic acid monoacetate (1) and acetyl eburicoic acid (4); a sterol, 9,11-dehydroergosterol peroxide (2); and a diterpenoid, dehydroabietic acid (3). All of the isolated compounds were cytotoxic to the lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, exhibiting IC(50) values ranging from 63.6 muM to 171.0 muM at 48 h of treatment. The cytotoxicity of the extract and the isolated compounds were found to be mediated by apoptosis, and accompanied by elevated Bax expression and/or Bcl-2 phosphorylation along with caspase-3 activation. Our data demonstrate that the sclerotium of P. cocos and its four bioactive constituents (1(-)4) exert cytotoxicity against human lung adenocarcinoma cells, regardless of their p53 status, by inducing apoptosis associated with mitochondrial perturbation, and proposing the potential to employ P. cocos in the treatment of lung cancer.

Bioactive compounds from sclerotia extract of Poria cocos that control adipocyte and osteoblast differentiation.[Pubmed:30092384]

Bioorg Chem. 2018 Dec;81:27-34.

Poria cocos Wolf confers edible sclerotia also known as 'Indian bread' in North America, that have been used for the treatment of various diseases in Asian countries. As part of our ongoing aim to identify biologically new metabolites from Korean edible mushrooms, we investigated the ethanol (EtOH) extract of the sclerotia of P. cocos by applying a comparative LC/MS- and bioassay-based analysis approach, since the EtOH extract reciprocally regulated adipocyte and osteoblast differentiation in mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Bioassay-based analysis of the EtOH extract led to the successful isolation of two sterols, ergosterol peroxide (1) and 9,11-dehydroergosterol peroxide (2); three diterpenes, dehydroabietic acid (3), 7-oxocallitrisic acid, (4) and pimaric acid (5); and two triterpenes, Dehydroeburicoic acid monoacetate (6) and eburicoic acid acetate (7) from the active hexane-soluble fraction. The isolated compounds (1-7) were examined for their effects on the regulation of MSC differentiation. The two sterols (1 and 2) were able to suppress MSC differentiation toward adipocytes. In contrast, the three diterpenes (3-5) showed activity to promote osteogenic differentiation of MSC. These findings demonstrate that the EtOH extract of P. cocos sclerotia is worth consideration as a new potential source of bioactive compounds effective in the treatment of osteoporosis in the elderly, since the extract contains sterols that inhibit adipogenic differentiation as well as diterpenes that promote osteogenic differentiation from MSCs.

Protective effect of lanostane triterpenoids from the sclerotia of Poria cocos Wolf against cisplatin-induced apoptosis in LLC-PK1 cells.[Pubmed:28487074]

Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2017 Jul 1;27(13):2881-2885.

Cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity is a serious adverse effect that limits the use of cisplatin in cancer patients. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of lanostane triterpenoids (1-10) isolated from the ethanolic extract of Poria cocos Wolf against cisplatin-induced cell death in LLC-PK1 kidney tubular epithelial cells. Treatment of cisplatin induced significant cell death, which was suppressed by treatment with Dehydroeburicoic acid monoacetate (1) and 3beta-acetoxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-21-oic acid (9). Compound 1 exhibited the highest efficacy among the tested compounds and was thus subjected to further mechanistic studies. The increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells induced by cisplatin reduced by 4.3% after co-treatment of cells with compound 1 (50 and 100muM). Furthermore, phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases JNK, ERK, and p38, and caspase-3, which characterize oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis, increased significantly after treatment with cisplatin, and decreased after treatment with compound 1. These results indicate that the renoprotective effects of compound 1 may be mediated by its anti-apoptotic activity.