• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.257-263
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• 2010

Visnagin (4-methoxy-7-methyl-5H-furo[3,2-g][1]-benzopyran-5-one), which is an active principle extracted from the fruits of Ammi visnaga, has been used as a treatment for low blood-pressure and blocked blood vessel contraction by inhibition of calcium influx into blood cells. However, the neuroprotective effect of visnagin was not clearly known until now. Thus, we investigated whether visnagin has a neuroprotective effect against kainic acid (KA)-induced neuronal cell death. In the cresyl violet staining, pre-treatment or post-treatment visnagin (100 mg/kg, p.o. or i.p.) showed a neuroprotective effect on KA ($0.1{\mu}g$) toxicity. KA-induced gliosis and proinflammatory marker (IL-$1{\beta}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, and COX-2) inductions were also suppressed by visnagin administration. These results suggest that visnagin has a neuroprotective effect in terms of suppressing KA-induced pathogenesis in the brain, and that these neuroprotective effects are associated with its anti-inflammatory effects.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.80-84
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• 2011

Five known compounds, cimigenol (1), 25-O-acetylcimigenol (2), cimigenol 3-O-${\beta}$-D-xylopyranoside (3), ferulic acid methyl ester (4), and visnagin (5), were isolated from Cimicifugae Rhizoma (Ranunculaceae). The chemical structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analyses including 2D NMR. Compounds 1 - 5 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against the HL-60, MCF-7, and A549 cancer cell lines in in vitro. Among them, compounds 4 and 5 showed moderate inhibitory activity against HL-60 cancer cell lines with $IC_{50}$ values of 24.8 and 18.1 ${\mu}M$, respectively.