Browsing by Author "Suzuki, M."
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Item Anti-trypanosomal activity of diarylheptanoids isolated from the bark of alnus japonica(American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2014) Tung, N.H.; Suzuki, M.; Uto, T.; Morinaga, O.; Kwofie, K.D.; Ammah, N.; Koram, K.A.; Aboagye, F.; Edoh, D.; Yamashita, T.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Setsu, T.; Yamaoka, S.; Ohta, N.; Shoyama, Y.The crude extract of Alnus japonica bark exhibited a strong effect on the growth of Trypanosoma brucei. Subsequent chromatographic separation resulted in the isolation of two novel diarylheptanoids, known as alnuside C (2) and alnuside D (3), and three known compounds, 1-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-heptan-3(R)-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), oregonin (4) and hirsutanone (5). The structures of the isolates were elucidated based on the use of extensive spectroscopic and chemical methods. Among the isolated diarylheptanoids, oregonin (4) (a major component of plant bark) and hirsutanone (5) exhibited potent in vitro inhibitory activity against T. brucei growth in the bloodstream with IC50 values of 1.14 and 1.78 μM, respectively. We confirmed that oregonin (4) and hirsutanone (5) were not toxic to human normal skin fibroblast cells (NB1RGB) and colon cancer cells (HCT-15) at a concentration of 50 μM; however, lower levels of toxicity were observed for leukemia cells. To determine the structure activity relationships of the isolated components, we performed Conformation Search and found that the 3-oxo function of the heptane chain in the diarylheptanoid molecule is required for their trypanocidal activity. © 2014 World Scientific Publishing Company and Institute for Advanced Research in Asian Science and Medicine.Item Determination of the absolute configuration of the novel anti-trypanosomal iridoid molucidin isolated from Morinda lucida by X-ray analysis(ELSEVIER, 2015-12) Karasawa, S.; Yoza, K.; Tung, N.H.; Uto, T.; Morinaga, O.; Suzuki, M.; Kwofie, K.D.; Amoa-Bosompem, M.; Boakye, D.A.; Ayi, I.; Adegle, R.; Sakyiamah, M.; Ayertey, F.; Aboagye, F.; Appiah, A.A.; Owusu, K.B.-A.; Tuffour, I.; Atchoglo, P.; Shoyama, Y.The strong anti-trypanosomal active compound, molucidin, contains a spirolactone tetracyclic iridoid skeleton and is isolated from Morinda lucida as an enantiomer of oruwacin, which is isolated from the same plant. To confirm the absolute configuration of molucidin, we prepared single crystals of molucidin for X-ray analysis. The absolute configuration of the afforded single crystal was determined by X-ray crystallography using a Cu radiation source. X-ray diffraction data were collected at 93 K in the 2θ range 7.468–134.99° and analyzed using the SHELXL-2014 program. The corresponding chiral quaternary carbon atoms in molucidin were unambiguously determined as 1R, 5S, 8S, 9S, and 10S. Notably, both enantiomers of a single molecule, molucidin and oruwacin, with a rigid structure have been isolated from the same plant species. The biosynthetic pathway for the formation of molucidin is also discussed on the basis of the absolute configuration. Our results for the first time support for structural elucidation of tetracyclic iridoids using X-ray analysis.Item Investigating the Role of Free-living Amoebae as a Reservoir for Mycobacterium ulcerans(Public Library of Science, 2014) Amissah, N.A.; Gryseels, S.; Tobias, N.J.; Ravadgar, B.; Suzuki, M.; Vandelannoote, K.; Durnez, L.; Leirs, H.; Stinear, T.P.; Portaels, F.; Ablordey, A.; Eddyani, M.The reservoir and mode of transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, still remain a mystery. It has been suggested that M. ulcerans persists with difficulty as a free-living organism due to its natural fragility and inability to withstand exposure to direct sunlight, and thus probably persists within a protective host environment.We investigated the role of free-living amoebae as a reservoir of M. ulcerans by screening the bacterium in free-living amoebae (FLA) cultures isolated from environmental specimens using real-time PCR. We also followed the survival of M. ulcerans expressing green fluorescence protein (GFP) in Acanthameoba castellanii by flow cytometry and observed the infected cells using confocal and transmission electron microscopy for four weeks in vitro.IS2404 was detected by quantitative PCR in 4.64% of FLA cultures isolated from water, biofilms, detritus and aerosols. While we could not isolate M. ulcerans, 23 other species of mycobacteria were cultivated from inside FLA and/or other phagocytic microorganisms. Laboratory experiments with GFP-expressing M. ulcerans in A. castellani trophozoites for 28 days indicated the bacteria did not replicate inside amoebae, but they could remain viable at low levels in cysts. Transmission electron microscopy of infected A. castellani confirmed the presence of bacteria within both trophozoite vacuoles and cysts. There was no correlation of BU notification rate with detection of the IS2404 in FLA (r = 0.07, n = 539, p = 0.127).This study shows that FLA in the environment are positive for the M. ulcerans insertion sequence IS2404. However, the detection frequency and signal strength of IS2404 positive amoabae was low and no link with the occurrence of BU was observed. We conclude that FLA may host M. ulcerans at low levels in the environment without being directly involved in the transmission to humans. © 2014 Amissah et al.Item New anti-trypanosomal active tetracyclic iridoid isolated from Morinda lucida Benth.(Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2015-08) Suzuki, M.; Tung, N.H.; Kwofie, K.D.; Adegle, R.; Amoa-Bosompem, M.; Sakyiamah, M.; Ayertey, F.; Owusu, K.B.-A.; Tuffour, I.; Atchoglo, P.; Frempong, K.K.; Anyan, W.K.; Uto, T.; Morinaga, O.; Yamashita, T.; Aboagye, F.; Appiah, A.A.; Appiah-Opong, R.; Nyarko, A.K.; Yamaoka, S.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Edoh, D.; Koram, K.; Ohta, N.; Boakye, D.A.; Ayi, I.; Shoyama, Y.Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness has remained a serious health problem in many African countries with thousands of new infected cases annually. Chemotherapy, which is the main form of control against HAT has been characterized lately by the viewpoints of toxicity and drug resistance issues. Recently, there have been a lot of emphases on the use of medicinal plants world-wide. Morinda lucida Benth. is one of the most popular medicinal plants widely distributed in Africa and several groups have reported on its anti-protozoa activities. In this study, we have isolated one novel tetracyclic iridoid, named as molucidin, from the CHCl3 fraction of the M. lucida leaves by bioassay-guided fractionation and purification. Molucidin was structurally elucidated by 1H and 13C NMR including HMQC, HMBC, H–H COSY and NOESY resulting in tetracyclic iridoid skeleton, and its absolute configuration was determined. We have further demonstrated that molucidin presented a strong anti-trypanosomal activity, indicating an IC50 value of 1.27 μM. The cytotoxicity study using human normal and cancer cell lines indicated that molucidin exhibited selectivity index (SI) against two normal fibroblasts greater than 4.73. Furthermore, structure–activity relationship (SAR) study was undertaken with molucidin and oregonin, which is identical to anti-trypanosomal active components of Alnus japonica. Overlapping analysis of the lowest energy conformation of molucidin with oregonin suggested a certain similarities of aromatic rings of both oregonin and molucidin. These results contribute to the future drug design studies for HAT.