Three new jatrophane diterpenes, esulatins A−C (1−3) were isolated and characterized from the whole, undried plant of Euphorbia esula. By means of spectral analysis, the structures were established as pentaesters and heptaesters of hitherto unknown, polyfunctional diterpene parent alcohols. Esulatins A (1) and C (3) are the diterpenoids with the highest degree of esterification identified to date from the family Euphorbiaceae.

Cannabis use is associated with cardiovascular adverse effects ranging from arrhythmias to sudden cardiac death. The exact mechanism of action behind these activities is unknown. The aim of our work was to study the effect of cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol on cellular cardiac electrophysiological properties including ECG parameters, action potentials, hERG and IKr ion channels in HEK cell line and in rabbit and guinea pig cardiac preparations. CBD increased action potential duration in rabbit and guinea pig right ventricular papillary muscle at lower concentrations (1 µM, 2.5 µM and 5 µM) but did not significantly change it at 10 µM. CBD at high concentration (10 µM) decreased inward late sodium and L-type calcium currents as well. CBD inhibited hERG potassium channels with an IC50 value of 2.07 µM at room temperature and delayed rectifier potassium current with 6.5 µM at 37 °C, respectively. The frequency corrected QT interval (QTc) was significantly lengthened in anaesthetized guinea pig without significantly changing other ECG parameters. Although the IC50 value of CBD was higher than literary Cmax values after CBD smoking and oral intake, our results raise the possibility that hERG and potassium channel inhibition might have a role in the possible proarrhythmic adverse effects of cannabinoids in situations where metabolism of CBD impaired and/or the repolarization reserve is weakened.

Ascophyllum nodosum, and to a lesser extent, Laminaria digitata, L. hyperborea and Fucus serratus, are marine algal species utilized in the commercial production of seaweed extracts used in agriculture. Betaines have been shown to be important constituents of these extracts, but there appears to have been no study made on whether there are variations in the betaine contents of these species based on either the place or date of collection. Samples of each of the four species were collected from widely separated areas at different times of the year. Also, in the case of A. nodosum, approximately monthly collections were made from one location. The betaines detected in the various collections of the same species showed little variation, although in the case of A. nodosum, glycinebetaine was found as a minor constituent in some samples, but was not detected in others. Trigonelline was found in all the tested samples of the two Laminaria species; this is, to our knowledge, the first record of this betaine in marine algae. With the exception of trigonelline in the Laminaria species, the betaine yields from the various samples of L. digitata, L. hyperborea and F. serratus showed little variation, regardless of either the place or date of collection. The trigonelline contents of the Laminaria species collected at one location (Finavarra, Ireland), in particular of L. hyperborea, was substantially greater than those from the other places of collection. In the case of A. nodosum, the betaine yields from samples collected at one site (Dale, Pembrokeshire, UK) were significantly higher than those from the other places of collection, which were very similar to each other. There was no clear indication of seasonal variation in betaine yields from A. nodosum.

A new pepluane diterpene polyester (2) was isolated from a CH2Cl2 extract of the whole, undried plant of Euphorbia peplus, together with the known compound 1. The structures were established by high-field spectroscopic methods, including 2D NMR techniques, and by X-ray crystallography, and the stereostructure of the first member of the pepluane diterpenoids (1) was revised.

Dietary antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, are helpful in the prevention and control of various diseases by counteracting the imbalance of oxidative and antioxidative factors in the living systems. Black currant (Ribes nigrum L., Grossulariaceae) is known to contain high amounts of anthocyanins (250 mg/100 g fresh fruit). Black currant fruits have been used in Asian and European traditional medicine for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Black currant extract has recently been found to be the second most effective amongst nine different berry extracts studied for their free radical scavenging activity. Constituents present in black currant juice have been found to exert a number of health-promoting effects, including immunomodulatory, antimicrobial and antiinflammatory actions, inhibition of low-density lipoprotein, and reduction of cardiovascular diseases. Although antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects of black currant juice could be of value in preventing and treating oxidative stress-and inflammation-driven cancers, no experimental evidence is available to now. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential antiproliferative effects of black currant fruit skin extract against HepG 2 human liver cancer cells. The aqueous extract yielded an anthocyanin-rich fraction with cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside as one of the major anthocyanins. This fraction exhibited a potent cytotoxic effect on HepG 2 cells and this effect was more pronounced than that of delphinidin and cyanidin, two major aglycones of anthocyanins present in black currant. Our results indicate, for the first time, that black currant skin containing an anthocyanin-rich fraction inhibits the proliferation of liver cancer cells, possibly due to additive as well as synergistic effects. This product could be useful in the prevention and treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma.