Purification through repeated column chromatography over silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 of the ethanol extract of the stems of Cissus aralioides (Baker) Planch. resulted in the isolation of a new ceramide, aralioidamide A (1) along with five known compounds (2-6). Their structures were determined by the extensive analysis of their spectroscopic (1D and 2D NMR) and spectrometric data, and comparison with those reported in the literature. Aralioidamide A (1) displayed weak antibacterial activity (MIC = 256 μg/mL) against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella flexneri and was inactive (MIC > 256 μg/mL) against the tested fungi.

Amino acids (AAs), important constituents of natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) of the skin are decreased in diseased conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. No study so far investigated the uptake of AAs into isolated corneocytes (COR). The present study was performed using 19 AAs, including taurine (TAU), to measure their amount diffused into the COR and binding of these AAs to keratin. Incubation of alanine, aspartic acid, asparagine, glutamine, glutamic acid, histidine, proline, serine and TAU with the isolated COR showed uptake after 24 h of 51.6, 95.4, 98.6, 94.1, 95.6, 90.1, 94.6, 72.9 and 57.8 %, respectively, into the COR but no binding with keratin. Uptake of TAU was validated by time dependent in-vitro diffusion models 'without COR and 'with COR'. The time dependent curve fitting showed that in in-vitro diffusion model 'without COR' there was no change in the total concentration of TAU until 72 hours, while in diffusion model 'with COR' the total conc. decreased to 37.8 % after 72 hours. The Pearson's correlation coefficient 'r' between the conc. curves of both in-vitro diffusion models was -0.54 that was an evidence of significant amount of TAU uptake by the COR. AAs as part of the NMFs have a great potential to be diffused into the COR. This property of the AAs can be employed in further dermatological research on diseased or aged skin conditions with NMFs deficiency.

Hydnora abyssinica A.Br. (Hydnoraceae), a holoparasitic herb, is for the first time recorded for Abyan governorate of South Yemen. Flowers of this species were studied for their ethnobotanical, biological and chemical properties for the first time. In South Yemen, they are traditionally used as wild food and to cure stomach diseases, gastric ulcer and cancer. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts showed the presence of terpenes, tannins, phenols, and flavonoids. The volatile components of the air-dried powdered flowers were identified using a static headspace GC/MS analysis as acetic acid, ethyl acetate, sabinene, α-terpinene, (+)-D-limonene and γ-terpinene. These volatile compounds that characterize the odor and taste of the flowers were detected for the first time in a species of the family Hydnoraceae. The flowers were extracted by n-hexane, dichlormethane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and water. With exception of the water extract all extracts demonstrated activities against Gram-positive bacteria as well as remarkable radical scavenging activities in DPPH assay. Ethyl acetate, methanol and water extracts exhibited good antifungal activities. The cytotoxic activity of the extracts against FL cells, measured in neutral red assay, was only weak (IC50 > 500 μg /mL). The results justify the traditional use of the flowers of Hydnora abyssinica in South Yemen.

Bacterial wilts of potato, tomato, pepper, and or eggplant caused by Ralstonia solanacearum are among the most serious plant diseases worldwide. In this study, the issue of developing bactericidal agents from natural sources against R. solanacearum derived from plant extracts was addressed. Extracts prepared from 25 plant species with antiseptic relevance in Egyptian folk medicine were screened for their antimicrobial properties against the potato pathogen R. solancearum by using the disc‐zone inhibition assay and microtitre plate dilution method. Plants exhibiting notable antimicrobial activities against the tested pathogen include extracts from Acacia arabica and Punica granatum. Bioactivity‐guided fractionation of A. arabica and P. granatum resulted in the isolation of bioactive compounds 3,5‐dihydroxy‐4‐methoxybenzoic acid and gallic acid, in addition to epicatechin. All isolates displayed significant antimicrobial activities against R. solanacearum (MIC values 0.5–9 mg/ml), with 3,5‐dihydroxy‐4‐methoxybenzoic acid being the most effective one with a MIC value of 0.47 mg/ml. We further performed a structure–activity relationship (SAR) study for the inhibition of R. solanacearum growth by ten natural, structurally related benzoic acids.

Rove beetles of the genus Stenus produce and store bioactive alkaloids like stenusine (3), 3‐(2‐methylbut‐1‐enyl)pyridine (4), and cicindeloine (5) in their pygidial glands to protect themselves from predation and microorganismic infestation.The biosynthesis of stenusine (3), 3‐(2‐methylbut‐1‐enyl)pyridine (4), and cicindeloine (5) was previously investigated in Stenus bimaculatus, Stenus similis, and Stenus solutus, respectively. The piperideine alkaloid cicindeloine (5) occurs also as a major compound in the pygidial gland secretion of Stenus cicindeloides. The three metabolites follow the same biosynthetic pathway, where the N‐heterocyclic ring is derived from L‐lysine and the side chain from L‐isoleucine. The different alkaloids are finally obtained by few modifications of shared precursor molecules, such as 2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐5‐(2‐methylbutylidene)pyridine (1). This piperideine alkaloid was synthesized and detected by GC/MS and GC at a chiral phase in the pygidial glands of Stenus similis, Stenus tarsalis, and Stenus cicindeloides.

A short survey of historic and current methods for the synthesis of selenocysteine, selenocystine, and derivatives and related compounds is presented, with an additional emphasis on the formation of selenocysteine‐derived SeS bridges. The majority of methods to the amino acid starts with protected and O ‐activated serine, but also other concepts are included such as radical or multicomponent strategies, the latter allowing also direct access to peptoids in one pot. Of special importance is the monomeric oxidative cyclization of selenocysteine–cysteine peptides to eight‐membered and larger rings with a selenenylsulfide bridge, a crucial element in several selenoproteins.

Two new N ‐glucosylated indole alkaloids were isolated from fruiting bodies of the basidiomycete Cortinarius brunneus (Pers .) Fr . The structures were elucidated by means of the spectroscopic data. Additionally, the very recently reported compounds N‐ 1‐β‐ glucopyranosyl‐3‐(carboxymethyl)‐1H ‐indole (3 ) and N‐ 1‐β‐ glucopyranosyl‐3‐(2‐methoxy‐2‐oxoethyl)‐1H ‐indole (4 ) could be detected. Compound 3 is the N ‐glucoside of the plant‐growth regulator 1H ‐indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA), but, in contrast, it does not exhibit auxin‐like activity in an Arabidopsis thaliana tap root elongation assay.

Chemical investigation of Stephania rotunda Lour. growing in Viet Nam led to the isolation and structural elucidation of three new alkaloids, 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one (1), thaicanine 4-O-β-L-glucoside (6), as well as (–)-thaicanine N-oxide (4-hydroxycorynoxidine) (8), along with 23 known alkaloids. These structures were determined on the basis of MS and NMR spectroscopic data.

New, partially acetylated dihydroxy fatty acids could be identified in the floral oil of Malpighia coccigera (Malpighiaceae): 7‐OAc,3‐OH 20 : 0, 7‐OAc,3‐OH 22 : 0, 9‐OAc,3‐OH 22 : 0, 9‐OAc,5‐OH 22 : 0, 3,9‐diOAc 22 : 0, 9‐OAc,3‐OH 24 : 0 , and 11‐OAc,5‐OH 24 : 0 . The substitution patterns of all hitherto undescribed dihydroxylated and additionally identified monohydroxylated fatty acids are in agreement with a polyketide analogous biosynthesis. Intermediates may be 3‐acetoxy fatty acids (C16, C18, and C20), known from flower secretions of other phylogenetically unrelated plant families. A possible relationship between plant epicuticular wax and floral oil biosynthesis is discussed. It may explain why an independent but convergent development of oil flowers and flower oils in unrelated plant families was possible.

2,4-Dimethoxy-2-methyl-6H-pyran-3-one (1), a hitherto unknown natural product, and the calcium salt of rehmapicroside (2) have been isolated from rhizomes of the Vietnamese variety of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch together with a series of known compounds: norcarotenoids (3–5), 2-formyl-5-hydroxymethylfurane (6), the iridoid rehmaglutin D (7), iridoid glycosides (8–12) and phenylethyl alcohol glycosides (13–17). Their structures were determined by mass and NMR spectroscopy.