Many natural products elicit diverse pharmacological effects. Using two classes of potential chemopreventive compounds, the phenolic compounds and the isothiocyanates, we review the potential utility of two signaling events, the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and the ICE/Ced-3 proteases (caspases) stimulated by these agents in mammalian cell lines. Studies with phenolic antioxidants (BHA, tBHQ), and natural products (flavonoids; EGCG, ECG, and isothiocyanates; PEITC, sulforaphane), provided important insights into the signaling pathways induced by these compounds. At low concentrations, these chemicals may activate the MAPK (ERK2, JNK1, p38) leading to gene expression of survival genes (c-Fos, c-Jun) and defensive genes (Phase II detoxifying enzymes; GST, QR) resulting in survival and protective mechanisms (homeostasis response). Increasing the concentrations of these compounds will additionally activate the caspase pathway, leading to apoptosis (potential cytotoxicity). Further increment to suprapharmacological concentrations will lead to nonspecific necrotic cell death. The wider and narrow concentration ranges between the activation of MAPK/gene induction and caspases/cell death exhibited by phenolic compounds and isothiocyanates, respectively, in mammalian cells, may reflect their respective therapeutic windows in vivo. Consequently, the studies of signaling pathways elicited by natural products will advance our understanding of their efficacy and safety, of which many man become important therapeuitc drugs of the future.

Formation of glutathione (GSH) conjugates with 2- or 6-(1-hydroxymethyl)- and 2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-DMNQ derivatives (DMNQ, 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquone was carried out in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), in the presence of glutathione-S-transferase (GST), in rat liver S-9 fraction and by perfusion, and the rates of conjugates formation were compared and correlated to cytotoxicity. The GSH conjugates of 6-(1-hydroxyalkyl)-DMNQ derivatives were formed faster than 2-(1-hydroxyalkyl)-DMNQ derivatives under all of the media, implying that steric hindrance was the cause of lowering the rate of conjugate formation of 2-substituted derivatives. For both isomers, addition of GST did not improve the reaction rate, compared with that in buffer, while the reaction in the S-9 fraction and the perfusate was accelerated to a great extent. The catalytic effect of the S-9 fraction and the perfusate contain an effective system relaxing the steric hindrance of 2-(1-hydroxyalkyl)-DMNQ derivatives. Furthermore, a good correlation between the formation of the GSH conjugates and the cytotoxic activity of both naphthazarin isomers suggests that the steric hindrance is a cause of lowering the cytotoxicity of 2-isomers.

The enantiomers of the bronchodilator terbutaline were separated by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatograhy after derivatization with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-\beta-D-glucopyranosyl isothiocyanate(GITC) reagent. The derivatization proceeded quantitatively within 1 h at room temperature. The corresponding diastereomeric thiourea derivatives were well resolved on an ODS column with acetonitrile-acetate buffer as a mobile phase. Elution orders of the diastereomers were confirmed by derivatization of R-(-)-terbutaline and S-(+)-terbutaline which were collected by semi-preparative chiral HPLC using Sumichiral OA-4700 column. The native fluorescence of terbutaline was quenched by derivatization with GITC. The detection limit was 25ng when monitored at UV 278 nm.

An efficient procedure for the preparation of 7,8-dichloro-6-nitro-1H-1,5-benzodiazepine-2,4-(3H, 5H)-dione(7) as a potential lead compound for the NMDA receptor glycine binding site antagonist, starting from readily available 4,5-dichloro-2-nitroaniline(8), is described. The key step in the synthesis involves the cyclization of malonic ester amide 10 to compound 11.

In order to investigate the stereochemical requirements of planar structure at 4-position of 4-phenyl-1-arylsulfonylimidazolidinones (1) for their cytoxicities against human cancer cell lines, the size, the distance from imidazolidinone ring, and the conformation of this moiety were variegated. Replacement of phenyl moiety with naphthyl in compounds 2 and 3 or benzyl moiety in compound 4 sharply reduced activity of 1. Conformational restriction on phenyl ring in compound 5 also resulted in the loss of activity of 1. Therefore, phenyl moiety without any substituents directly attached to imidazolidinone ring of 1 should be considered as an essential pharmacophore for this analog.

6-Arylamino-7-halo-5,8-quinolinediones (4a-4k, 5a-5b) were tested for in vitro cytotoxicity against human solid tumor cell lines such as A 549 (non-small cell lung). SK-OV-3 (ovarian), SK-MEL-2 (melanoma), HCT-15 (colon) and XF 498 (CNS) by SRB assay. The arylamino-7-chloro-5,8-quinolinediones 4 were also evaluated for cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK2 and CDK4) inhibitory effect. Among them, the 5,8-quinolinediones 4a and 5a with 7-(4-fluorophenyl) amino group were found to be potent cytotoxic against HCT 15, SKOV-3 and XF 498, and the compounds 4f and 4i showed inhibitory activities for the CDK4.

Two neolignan compound, magnolol $(5,5^{l}-diallyl-2,2^{l}-dihydroxybiphenyl, 1)$ and honokiol $(5,5^{l}-diallyl-2,4^{l}-dihydroxybiphenyl, 2)$ were isolated from the stem bark of Magnolia obovata and evaluated for antifungal activity against various human pathogenic fungi. Compound 1 and 2 showed significant inhibitory activities against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporium gypseum, Epidermophyton floccosum, Aspergillus niger, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in a range of $25-100{\mu}g/ml$. Therefore, compound 1 and 2 could be used as lead compounds for the development of novel antifungal agents.

Diarylheptanoids, (5S)-1,7-bis-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5-hydroxyheptane-3-one (1, hirsutanonol), $(5S)-1,7-bis-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-heptane-3-one-5-O-{\beta}-D-xylopyranoside (2, oregonin)$, $(5R)-1,7-bis-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-heptane-5-O-{\beta}-D-xylopyranoside (3)$, and $(5R)-1,7-bis-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-heptane-5-O-{\beta}$-D-glucopyranoisde$ (4) were isolated from the leaves of Alnus hirsuta Trucz. The structures of these compounds were identified based on the spectral and physicochemical data.

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms for the suppression of LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production by a dehydrocostus lactone (DL) from Saussurea lappa, we examined the preventive effect of this compound on $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages and U937 human monocytic cells. The results suggest that the suppression of NO production is mediated by the inhibitory action on the i-NOS gene expression through the inactivation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ and this sesquiterpene lactone can act as a pharmacological inhibitor of the $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation.

Cancer development and the efficiency of chemotherapy relies on the patients calcium-related pathological status such as hyper- or hypocalcemica. In the present study, we investigated the effect of extracellular cations such as calcium and magnesium on the therapeutic efficacy of antitumor drugs. The analytic parameters used were cellular drug uptake/excretion and the chemosensitivity of the human breast cancer cell lines, MCF7 and MCF7/ADR. Both calcium and magnesium ions decreased the membrane permeability of cancer cells, which was determined bycell size analysis. These divalent ions also lowered the drug uptake and the cytoplasmic levels of rhodamine 123 and adriamycin, suggesting that they might interfere with the diffusion of these drugs by modifying the physical properties of the cytoplasmic membrane. The acute cytotoxicity of adriamycin after a short period of incubation correlated with changes in its cytoplasmic level. Our results indicate that these extracellular cations might play an important role in the therapeutic activities of anticancer drugs in cancer patients. These results also provide insight a new aspect of chemotherapy, because they suggest that the therapeutic dose of anti-cancer drugs should be modified in cancer-bearing patients presenting with abnormal blood calcium levels.

Peonjahwan, an oriental traditional medicine composed of crude herbal drugs and animal tissues is bitter and poorly water-soluble. To mask the bitterness of peonjahwan and enhance the release of bilirubin, one of the crude active ingredients of peonjahwan, peonja dry elixir (PDE), was prepared using a spray-dryer after extracting the crude materials in ethanol-water solution. coated peonja dry elixir (CPDE) was then prepared by coating the PDE with Eudragit acrylic resin. Panel assessed bitterness and release test of bilirubin from PDE and CPDE were carried out and compared with peonjahwan alone. PDE was found to have little effect upon the reduction of the bitterness of peonjahwan. However, the bitterness of CPDE was found to reduce to 1/4 of that of peonjahwan due to the encapsulation of crude active ingredients by the dextrin and Eudragit shell (P<0.05). The release rate of bilirubin from PDE and CPDE for 60 min increased about 3.5- and 2.5-fold, respectively, compared to peonjahwan at pH 1.2. It is concluded that CPDE, which masked the bitterness of peonjahwan and enhanced the release of bilirubin, is a preferable delivery system for peonjahwan.

The general pharmacological properties of YJA20379-1 2-dimethylamino-4,5-dihydrothiazolo[4,5:3,4]pyridol[1,2-a]benzoimidazole, a novel proton pump inhibitor with antiulcer activities were investigated in mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. YJA20379-2 at oral doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg did not affect the general behaviour, hexobarbital hypnosis and motor coordination in mice. The drug did not have analgesic or anticonvulsant action at 200 mg/kg. Locomotor activity and body temperature were not influenced at 100 mg/kg. At a concentration up to 2{\times}10^{-4} g/ml$, YJA20379-2 did not produce any contraction or relaxation of isolated preparations, such as the rat fundus, the guinea pig ileum and the rat uterus, and did not antagonize the contractile response to several spasmogens, such as histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin and oxytocin. At dosages up to 200 mg/kg p.o. YJA20379-2 did not affect the pupil size of mice. Intestinal propulsion of mice was not affected up to 200 mg/kg p.o. and the drug did not affect urinary excretion at 100 mg/kg p.o. These results indicate that at dosages up to 100 gm/kg p.o. YJA20379-2 was found not to affect this pharmacological profile. However, at 200 mg/kg the drug lowered body temperature and showed decreased in locomotor activity and urine volume.

Heterokaryotic nuclear hybrids overcoming the natural barriers of incompatibility have been studied in basidiomycetes. To produce these nuclear hybrids between incompatible mushrooms, which have several potent pharmacological effects, nuclear transfer was performed between Lentinula edodes and Coriolus versicolor. Nuclei from serine auxotrophs of Lentinula edodes, $LE207(Ser^{-})$ were transferred into the protoplasts of arginine auxotrophs of Coriolus versicolor, $CV17(Ser^{-})$using 30% polyethylene glycol 4000 in 10 mM $Cacl_{2}$-glycine solution (pH 8.0). Nulcear transfer progenies were selected by nutritional complementation on minimal media supplemented with 0.6 M sucrose. The progenies were classified based on colony morphology to L. edodes-like, C, versicolor-like and non-parental type. Most of the progenies grew slower than either parent. The number of nuclei per cell was similar but the DNA content varied between progenies. The isozyme patterns of nuclear hybrids resembled either of the parent porfiles or showed a mixed profile.