• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.344-353
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• 2020

This study aims to develop new potential therapeutic moracin M prodrugs acting on lung inflammatory disorders. Potential moracin M prodrugs (KW01-KW07) were chemically synthesized to obtain potent orally active derivatives, and their pharmacological activities against lung inflammation were, for the first time, examined in vivo using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury model. In addition, the metabolism of KW02 was also investigated using microsomal stability test and pharmacokinetic study in rats. When orally administered, some of these compounds (30 mg/kg) showed higher inhibitory action against LPS-induced lung inflammation in mice compared to moracin M. Of them, 2-(3,5-bis((dimethylcarbamoyl)oxy)phenyl)benzofuran-6-yl acetate (KW02) showed potent and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the same animal model of lung inflammation at 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg. This compound at 10 mg/kg also significantly reduced IL-1β concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the inflamed-lungs. KW02 was rapidly metabolized to 5-(6-hydroxybenzofuran-2-yl)-1,3-phenylene bis(dimethylcarbamate) (KW06) and moracin M when it was incubated with rat serum and liver microsome as expected. When KW02 was administered to rats via intravenous or oral route, KW06 was detected in the serum as a metabolite. Thus, it is concluded that KW02 has potent inhibitory action against LPS-induced lung inflammation. It could behave as a potential prodrug of moracin M to effectively treat lung inflammatory disorders.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3453-3458
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• 2014

An efficient and practical synthesis of natural moracins, which have diverse range of biological properties including anticancer, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, has been achieved using $Pd(OAc)_2/P(^tBu)_3-HBF_4$ as a Sonogashira coupling reagent which solved the unreactive problems in case of higher electron density of haloaryl compounds in the reaction. Lowering electron density of halophenol with acetylation and changing Sonogashira coupling reagent from $PdCl_2(PPh_3)_2$ to $Pd(OAc)_2/P(^tBu)_3-HBF_4$ smoothly produce the benzofuran structures in the syntheses of moracins M, N and S. The electron deficient halobenzaldehyde, however, easily forms the benzofuran using original Sonogashira conditions, and utilized for the first synthesis of moracin Y.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.517-524
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• 2011

Eleven polyphenolic compounds, including procatechuic and chlorogenic acids, (+)-dihydroquercetin, rutin, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, (+)-dihydrokaempferol, trans-resveratrol, moracin, quercetin and 4-prenylmoracin were isolated and purified from the methanolic extract of defatted mulberry seed residue by a series of column chromatography including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and ODS-A, and their chemical structures were identified by spectral analysis. The antioxidant activities of the eleven isolated polyphenolic compounds were measured spectrophotometrically using DPPH radical. Among the eleven polyphenolic compounds tested, rutin ($IC_{50}=20.2\;{\mu}M$), isoquercitrin ($IC_{50}=22.5\;{\mu}M$), quercitrin ($IC_{50}=24.6\;{\mu}M$), quercetin ($IC_{50}=27.8\;{\mu}M$), (+)-dihydroquercetin ($IC_{50}=28.9\;{\mu}M$), and chlorogenic acid ($IC_{50}=30.6\;{\mu}M$) exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than L-ascorbic acid ($IC_{50}=31.5\;{\mu}M$) and ${\alpha}$-tocopherol ($IC_{50}=52.3\;{\mu}M$), whereas procatechuic acid ($IC_{50}=68.2\;{\mu}M$) showed lower activity. In addition, (+)-dihydrokaempferol ($IC_{50}=33.8\;{\mu}M$), trans-resveratrol ($IC_{50}=36.2\;{\mu}M$), moracin ($IC_{50}=47.6\;{\mu}M$), and 4-prenylmoracin ($IC_{50}=48.2\;{\mu}M$) exhibited moderate antioxidant activity. Furthermore, levels of the eleven polyphenolic compounds from three different types of mulberry seeds were quantified by HPLC, and their contents were as follows: rutin (311~60.0 mg/100 g)> quercitrin (7.2~34.2 mg/100 g)> (+)-dihydroquercetin (13.2~33.1 mg/100 g)> quercetin (15.8~19.5 mg/100 g)> 4-prenylmoracin (10.5~43.3 mg/100 g)> isoquercitrin (5.8~15.4 mg/100 g)> chlorogenic acid (0.0~15.3 mg/100 g)> moracin (4.7~7.2 mg/100 g)> procatechuic acid (0.0~11.6 mg/100 g)> (+)-dihydrokaempferol and trans-resveratrol (<0.1 mg/100 g). The 'Daesungppong' mulberry seeds among the three cultivars had higher flavonoid contents, such as rutin and quercetin derivatives, while the 'Iksuppong' seeds had the highest contents of phenolic acids and moracin derivatives. 'Cheongilppong' had lower amounts of polyphenolic compounds than the other two mulberry seeds. These results indicate that mulberry seeds containing antioxidant polyphenolic compounds may be potentially useful sources of anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, and anti-aging agents for functional foods and cosmetics.

• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.1.1-1.14
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• 2019

Hypoxia-inducible factor-$1{\alpha}$ ($HIF-1{\alpha}$) mediates tumor cell adaptation to hypoxic conditions and is a potentially important anticancer therapeutic target. We previously developed a method for synthesizing a benzofuran-based natural product, (R)-(-)-moracin-O, and obtained a novel potent analog, MO-460 that suppresses the accumulation of $HIF-1{\alpha}$ in Hep3B cells. However, the molecular target and underlying mechanism of action of MO-460 remained unclear. In the current study, we identified heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2B1 (hnRNPA2B1) as a molecular target of MO-460. MO-460 inhibits the initiation of $HIF-1{\alpha}$ translation by binding to the C-terminal glycinerich domain of hnRNPA2B1 and inhibiting its subsequent binding to the 3'-untranslated region of $HIF-1{\alpha}$ mRNA. Moreover, MO-460 suppresses $HIF-1{\alpha}$ protein synthesis under hypoxic conditions and induces the accumulation of stress granules. The data provided here suggest that hnRNPA2B1 serves as a crucial molecular target in hypoxiainduced tumor survival and thus offer an avenue for the development of novel anticancer therapies.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.768-777
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• 2013

Physicochemical characteristics and analysis of functional constituents of mulberry (Morus alba L.) fruit juices were investigated according to four different mulberry cultivars, including iksuppong, daeseongppong, cheongilppong and kwasangppong. Among the four mulberry cultivars examined, the small-sized cheongilppong had higher soluble solid content and lower titratable acidity, whereas the big-sized daeseongppong had higher titratable acidity and lower soluble solid content than other mulberry cultivars. Cheongilppong had higher contents of fructose and glucose, while daeseongppong had higher contents of citric and malic acids than the other mulberry cultivars. Kwasangppong had higher contents of two anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside, while cheongilppong had lower contents of two anthocyanins than the other mulberry cultivars. Daeseongppong had higher contents of resveratrols, flavonoids and moracin, whereas cheongilppong had higher levels of protocatechuic, chlorogenic and caffeic acids than the other mulberry fruits. Of the four mulberry cultivars, daeseongppong and cheongilppong had higher contents of GABA and DNJ, respectively, than the other mulberry cultivars. These results provide useful information to food technologists for the development and standardization of high quality mulberry juices as well as their processed foods.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.109-111
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• 2017

The root bark of Morus alba L. were extracted with 80% aqueous MeOH, and the concentrated extract was partitioned with EtOAc, n-BuOH, and $H_2O$ fractions. The repeated silica gel ($SiO_2$), octadecyl $SiO_2$ (ODS), and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies of the EtOAc fraction led to isolation of 12 phenolic compounds. The chemical structures of the compounds were determined as sanggenol Q (1), sanggenol A (2), sanggenol L (3), kuwanon T (4), cyclomorusin (5), sanggenon F (6), sanggenol O (7), sanggenon N (8), sanggenon G (9), mulberrofuran G (10), mulberrofuran C (11), and moracin E (12). All isolated compounds were evaluated for inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.198-201
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• 2011

Tyrosinase is one of the important enzymes in the mammalian melanin synthesis. In the process of melanin synthesis, tyrosine is oxidized to DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), and DOPA is further oxidized to dopaquinone. Tyrosinase is an enzyme catalyzing this oxidation of tyrosine, so chemicals that inhibit the activity of tyrosinase can be used as skin whitening agents. In this study, we isolated five constituents from the 80% MeOH extract of Morus bombycis cortex by bioactivity-guided fractionation. We performed mushroom tyrosinase inhibition assay. As a result, 7,2',4'-trihydroxyflavanone (1), 2',4',2,4,-tetrahydroxychalcone (2), and oxyresveratrol (3) showed the more potent inhibitory effect compared to kojic acid, a well-known skin whitening agent with antityrosinase effect. Moracinoside M (4) and moracin M-3'-O-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside (5) also showed the moderate tyrosinase inhibitory activities.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.220-223
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• 2013

In the course of screening tyrosinase inhibitory activity, total methanolic extract and EtOAc-soluble fraction of Smilax china leaves showed significant inhibitory activity. Further fractionation and isolation of the EtOAc-soluble fraction resulted in 12 phenolic compounds, which were identified as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (1), 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (2), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3), 3,4-dihydroxyacetophenone (4), 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzoic acid (5), trans-p-hydroxycinnamic acid (6), cis-p-hydroxycinnamic acid (7), trans-resveratrol (8), cis-resveratrol (9), dihydroresveratrol (10), moracin M (11) and kaempferol (12). Compounds 1-11 were first reported from this plant. Among the isolated compounds, compounds 2, 8, 9 and 12 showed strong inhibition on tyrosinase activity.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.268-274
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• 2019

Morus alba L., known as white mulberry, is a medicinal plant belongs to family Moraceae. It has long been used commonly in Ayurvedic for the treatment of lung-heat, cough, asthma, hematemesis, dropsy and hypertension. In the present study, seven prenylated flavonoids, along with four benzofuran compounds were isolated by means of repeated column chromatography. The structures of the known compounds were identified as kuwanon G (1), kuwanon E (2), kuwanon T (3), morusin (4), sanggenon A (5), sanggenon M (6), sanggenol A (7), moracin R (8), mulberofuran G (9), mulberofuran A (10) and mulberofuran B (11), by comparing their spectroscopic data with those reported in the literature. For these isolates, containing trace compounds, the inhibitory activity against IL-6 production in $TNF-{\alpha}$ stimulated MG-63 cells was examined. All isolated compounds (1 - 11) showed excellent inhibitory activity against IL-6 production in $TNF-{\alpha}$ stimulated MG-63 cells. Especially this study is first time to report that sanggenon A (5), sanggenon M (6), sanggenol A (7), mulberofuran G (9), mulberofuran A (10) and mulberofuran B (11) showed the inhibitory activity of IL-6 production. Our study suggested the possibility of anti-inflammatory regulation by compounds (1 - 11) isolated from M. alba.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.256-262
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• 2013

Four functional constituents, oxyresveratrol 3'-O-${\beta}$-D-glucoside (ORTG), oxyresveratrol (ORT), t-resveratrol (RT), and moracin (MC) were isolated from the ethanolic extract of mulberry (Morus alba L.) twigs by a series of isolation procedures, including solvent fractionation, and silica-gel, ODS-A, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. Their chemical structures were identified by NMR and FABMS spectral analysis. Quantitative changes of four phytochemicals in mulberry twigs were determined by HPLC according to cultivar, producing area, and heat processing. ORTG was a major abundant compound in the mulberry twigs, and its levels ranged from 23.7 to 105.5 mg% in six different mulberry cultivars. Three other compounds were present in trace amounts (<1 mg/100 g) or were not detected. Among mulberry cultivars examined, "Yongcheon" showed the highest level of ORTG, whereas "Somok" had the least ORTG content. Levels of four phytochemicals in the mulberry twigs harvested in early September were higher than those harvested in early July. Levels of ORTG and ORT in the "Cheongil" mulberry twigs produced in the Uljin area were higher than those produced in other areas. Generally, levels of ORTG and ORT in mulberry twigs decreased with heat processing, such as steaming, and microwaving except roasting, whereas those of RT and MC did not considerably vary according to heat processing. These results suggest that the roasted mulberry twigs may be useful as potential sources of functional ingredients and foods.