Study on the Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Activity of Ethnic Medicine Four Number Nine Li Xiang (III)
There are 14 species and 2 varieties of plants in the genus Aquilaria worldwide, including 9 species and 1 variety in China. The medicinal records of plants in the genus Murraya began with the “Lingnan Medicinal Collection Record”. Currently, the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia” (2020 edition) includes two species: Murraya panaculata (L.) Jack and Murraya panaculata (L.) var. exotica (L.) Huang. Modern pharmacological research has shown that the medicinal plants of the genus Aquilaria have the ability to enhance the body’s immune function, resist bacteria, reduce inflammation and anesthesia, lower blood sugar, promote qi circulation and relieve pain, and promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis; Modern medicinal chemistry research has shown that it mainly contains chemical components such as carbazole alkaloids, flavonoids, and coumarins.
Murraya tetramera Huang, as a species of the genus Murraya, is mainly distributed in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces of China, growing on slopes with limestone. In ethnic minority areas of Yunnan (Yi, Li, Miao, Hui, Zhuang, Dai), their dried leaves are used as medicine among the people. The medicinal record of Si Shu Jiu Li Xiang first appeared in the “Wenshan Chinese Herbal Medicine” and was later included as an ethnic medicine in the “Yunnan Province Chinese Herbal Medicine Standards” (2005 edition) (Volume 1: Yi Ethnic Medicine). In the “National Compilation of Chinese Herbal Medicines” (Volume 2, 1978), it is recorded that “Murraya tetramera Huang, a plant in the Rutaceae family, is used as medicine with its leaves and roots. Leaves and roots are harvested in summer and autumn, washed and cut into sections, and can be used fresh or dried in the shade for later use; It is spicy and warm in nature, and belongs to the lung and liver meridians. Si Shu Jiu Li Xiang has the effects of dispelling wind, relieving pain, promoting blood circulation, and dispersing blood stasis. The research team found that there are injections made from the ethanol extract and essential oil of dried leaves of Ganoderma lucidum for the treatment of lung cancer. However, there is relatively little research on the pharmacological substance basis of Ganoderma lucidum in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. Therefore, in this experiment, 95% ethanol was used as the extraction solvent, and the cold impregnation method was used to extract, filter, concentrate, and prepare a paste of Four Number Nine Liquors collected from Yunnan; Dissolve the extract in warm water and extract it sequentially according to the polarity of the solvent. Use traditional column chromatography to separate and purify the ethyl acetate extract; Using modern spectroscopic techniques and comparing literature data to identify the structure of compounds; Five tumor cells (human leukemia tumor cell line HL-60, human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A-549, human liver cancer cell line SMMC-7721, human colon cancer cell line SW-480, and human breast cancer cell line MCF-7) were used as models to study the inhibitory effect of each chemical component on the proliferation of five tumor cells. The results of this study enriched the research content of the chemical components of Silurus odorata Thunb, and also provided the material basis and data support for further revealing the efficacy of the national drug Silurus odorata Thunb.

In this experiment, 15 compounds were isolated and identified from the ethyl acetate extract of the alcohol extract of Four Number Nine Thyme. Among them, compound 1 was a flavonoid, compounds 2-7 were phenylpropanoids, and compounds 8-15 were alkaloids; All 15 compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time; This experiment also investigated the in vitro inhibitory effect of compounds 1-15 on tumor cell proliferation. The results showed that alkaloid compounds had good inhibitory effects on five tumor cell lines (HL-60, A-549, SMMC-7721, SW-480, MCF-7). The results of this experiment have enriched the research on the chemical composition and pharmacological substance basis of the ethnic medicine Four Number Nine Thyme, providing a reference for explaining the inhibitory effect of the ethnic medicine Four Number Nine Thyme on tumor cell proliferation. In the later stage, metabolic and transcriptomic methods will be used to study the genetic mechanism of the synthesis of four digit nine spice carbazole alkaloids and the targets and mechanisms of related compounds in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation.