Two new lignans with antioxidative activities from Jatropha curcas

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Pharmacology
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• Jatropha curcas L. seeds are a rich source of bioactive compounds.
• Lignans are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites with diverse biological activities.
• Identifying novel compounds from natural sources is crucial for drug discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize new lignan compounds from Jatropha curcas seeds.
• To evaluate the isolated compounds for antioxidative and PPARγ activating activities.

Main Methods:

• Activity-guided isolation using spectroscopic analysis (NMR, MS).
• Chemical characterization of isolated compounds.
• In vitro assays for antioxidative and PPARγ activity determination.

Main Results:

• Two new lignans, jatrophasin C (1) and jatrophasin D (2), were identified.
• Eight known compounds, including β-sitosterol (3), daucosterol (5), and americanol A (10), were also isolated.
• The isolated compounds exhibited varying degrees of antioxidative and PPARγ activating potential.

Conclusions:

• Jatropha curcas seeds contain novel lignans with potential therapeutic applications.
• The identified compounds warrant further investigation for their pharmacological properties, particularly in relation to oxidative stress and metabolic regulation via PPARγ.