Gastritis is a common disease worldwide that is caused by various causes such as eating habits, smoking, severe stress, and heavy drinking, as well as Helicobacter pylori infections and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Cinnamomum cassia is a tropical aromatic evergreen tree commonly used as a natural medicine in Asia and as a functional food ingredient. Studies have reported this species’ anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, and cardiovascular disease suppression effects. We evaluated the potential effects of C. cassia using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ethanol (EtOH), and ethanol/hydrochloric acid (HCl)-induced gastric mucosal injury models. C. cassia extracts reduced the area of gastric mucosa injury caused by indomethacin, NSAID, EtOH, and EtOH/HCl. We also applied a network pharmacology-based approach to identify the active compounds, potential targets, and pharmacological mechanisms of C. cassia against gastritis. Through a network pharmacology analysis, 10 key components were predicted as anti-gastritis effect-related compounds of C. cassia among 51 expected active compounds. The NF-κB signaling pathway, a widely known inflammatory response mechanism, comprised a major signaling pathway within the network pharmacology analysis. These results suggest that the anti-gastritis activities of C. cassia may be induced via the anti-inflammatory effects of key components, which suppress the inflammation-related genes and signaling pathways identified in this study.

Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kurz (Acanthaceae) is known as traditional medicine for the treatment of fungal and herpes virus infections. A new naphthoquinone racemate, rhinacasutone (1) together with seven known compounds, rhinacanthone (2), rhinacanthins C, D, N, Q, and E (3-7), and heliobuphthalmin (8) were isolated from root of R. nasutus. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D-, 2D-NMR and MS data. All the isolated compounds were tested for their antiviral activities against PR8, HRV1B, and CVB3-infected vero cells. Compounds 3-6 exhibited significant antiviral activities with the IC value ranging from 0.03 to 23.7 μM in all three infections.

Brevilin A, which has anticancer activities against a range of cancers, is an abundant constituent of the medicinal herb Centipeda minima (L.) A. Braun & Asch, which has also been reported to have anticancer activity against breast cancer cells. However, the anticancer activities of C. minima and brevilin A against human gastric cancer have yet to be reported. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and molecular basis underlying the anticancer activities of extracts of C. minima (CMX) and brevilin A against human gastric cancer (AGS) cells. We deduced the potential targets and mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity of brevilin A based on a network pharmacology approach. CCND1, CDK4, and BCL2L1 were identified as the key anticancer genes targeted by brevilin A. Cytotoxicity analyses revealed that CMX and brevilin A reduced the viability of AGS cells to levels below 50% (9.73 ± 1.29 µg/mL and 54.69 ± 1.38 μM, respectively). Furthermore, Hoechst 33342, annexin V, and propidium iodide staining and western blot analyses revealed that CMX and brevilin A promoted a significant induction of apoptotic cell death by upregulating the expression of cleaved caspase-8 and cleaved caspase-3 and reducing the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2, which is partially consistent with the findings of our network pharmacology analysis. Collectively, our observations indicate that CMX and brevilin A are novel sources of herbal medicine with potential utility as effective agents for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kurz (Acanthaceae) is known as traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases, such as cancer, fungal infections, herpes virus infections and several types of skin diseases in South-East Asian countries. In this study, eight compounds 1-8 were isolated from the aerial parts of R. nasutus. The structures of compounds were determined by the spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR. The isolated compounds were evaluated for neuraminidase inhibitory activity. Several lignans, 2,3-bis[(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)methyl]-1,4-butanediol (5) and 8,8'-bisdihydrosiringenin glucoside (6), significantly inhibited neuraminidase activity, which was comparable to the positive controls, mangiferin and oseltamivir. In addition, a structure-based virtual screening against neuraminidase using bioactive components was demonstrated.

One new isoflavane, 7,4′-dihydroxy-isoflavanquinone (1), together with ten known compounds (2-11) were isolated from the bark of Dalbergia oliveri Prain. The structures of compounds were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR and CD spectroscopic data. Using a cell proliferation assay, the isolated compounds were evaluated for their proliferation effects on hair growth. (3R)-5'-Methoxyvestitol (2) and (6aR,11aR)-3,8dihydroxy-9-methoxypterocarpan (10) significantly increased the proliferation of immortalized dermal papilla cells (iDPC).