• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.303-313
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• 2009

Traditionally, Cham dang-gui (Angelica gigas Nakai) is one of the most popular herbal medicines in Asian countries including Korea. A. gigas has been used as a functional food product for treatment anemia, women's health care, a sedative, an anodyne or a tonic agent. Decursin and decursinol angelate isolated from the roots of A. gigas are pyranocoumarin compounds. Recently, as the global herbal medication market is increasing, investigations about pharmacological effects of decursin and decursinol angelate are rapidly increasing. We summarized previous studies about pharmacological effects of decursin and decursinol angelate, and reviewed relation with pharmacological effects of decursin and decursinol angelate on human disorder, focused on the approach for new drug development. Pharmacological effects of decursin and decursinol angelate were classified as anti-tumor activity, anti-bacterial activity, improvements of the circulating system, inhibition of cytochrome P-450 activity, anti-inflammation activity, anti-oxidant activity and cognitive-enhancing activites. The activity of A. gigas with improvement of the circulating system may have wide therapeutic potential for circulatory diseases, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. Also, anti-inflammation activity A. gigas may be beneficial for the treatment and prevention of asthma, atopic dermatitis and rheumatism arthritis. This relation could potentially lead to the development of herbal new drugs. In order to development a new drug containing decursin and decursinol angelate, it is also necessary to consider the safety profile, and the information in this review would contribute to development a new drug from herbal medicine.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.301-308
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• 2011

Diabetes has been one of major health risks in industrialized countries. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been focused as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of metabolic syndromes, because AMPK increases glucose uptake through independent insulin signal pathway. In this study, we investigated the anti-diabetic effect of Angelica gigas Nakai extract (AGNEX), a mixture of decursin and decursinol angelate (53 : 47), decursin and decursinol angelate on blood glucose, glucose transport (GLUT) and AMPK expression levels in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. To induce diabetes, 50 mg/kg of STZ was injected via i.v. route and AGNEX 2 mg/kg (STZ+AG), decursin 2 mg/kg (STZ+D), decursinol angelate 2 mg/kg (STZ+DA), and metformin 100 mg/kg (STZ+M) were administered orally for 21 days. STZ+DA group showed a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose levels compared to the other groups. Decursinol angelate significantly upregulated expression of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) and phosphorylation of AMPK (p-AMPK) in skeletal muscle of rats. In pancreas of rats, decursinol angelate significantly increased expression of GLUT2 through down-regulation of p-AMPK. In addition to the result of pancreatic islets morphology, AGNEX, decursin, decursinol angelate, and metformin treated group recovered ${\beta}$-cell damage by hyperglycemia. These results indicate that decursinol angelate might be a potential anti-diabetic agent and AGNEX could be useful in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.187-194
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• 2009

Two pyranocoumarin constituents have been isolated from Angelica gigas and were identified as decursinol angelate (1) and decursin (2) by means of NMR analysis, respectively. Human acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (hACAT) inhibitory activity of decursinol angelate (1) and decursin (2) was evaluated. Decursin (2) showed significantly inhibitory activity against hACAT1 and hACAT2 with $IC_{50}$ value of 137 and $168\;{\mu}M$, respectively, whereas decursinol angelate (1) exhibited weak ACAT inhibitory activity. These results suggested that decusin from A. gigas might be effective for the prevention and the treatment of hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerosis by inhibitory effect on hACAT. The contents of decursinol angelate (1) and decursin (2) were analyzed in various parts of A. gigas including flower, seed, leaf and root using LC/MS/MS (ESI, positive ion mode, MRM mode). The content of decursinol angelate was increased in order of flower, seed, leaf, and root and decursin content was increased in order of flower, seed, leaf, and root. It was expected that unused parts including leaf and flower of A. gigas might be useful as new functional sources by their high contents of decursin and decursinol angelate.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1128-1141
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• 2021

'Angelica' is one of the most traditionally consumed medicinal herbs around Northeast Asia including Korea for treatments of various diseases or health care purposes like hematopoiesis, blood circulation for women, sedative, analgesic, and a tonic medicine etc. Angelica gigas Nakai, a Korean native species of Angelica, is clearly different from the others in containing a high concentration of active ingredients like pyranocoumarines including decursin, decursinol, and decursinol angelate. These compounds have various kinds of positive effects such as anti-tumor activity including the precaution of neutropenia occurred during anticancer drug administration, improvements of metabolic disorders, menstrual irregularity, impairment of renal function, respiration improvement, cognition-enhancement, anti-inflammatory effect, anti-oxidative effect, enhancing fertility and so forth. Thus it implies incredible potentialities in future development for foods and drugs. However, certain purity-related qualities and/or overdose in food products can cause side effects like toxicities; therefore, their safety profiles should also be considered. This review focuses on the positive and negative effects of three pyranocoumarines in Angelica gigas Nakai and some possibilities and considerations for future food and drug products development.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.158-161
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• 2003

Root cultures of Angelica gigas Nakai were found to be sensitive to elicitation by poly-saccharide elicitors, such as methyl-$\beta$-cyclodextrin, glucan, carboxymethyl-$\beta$-chitin, chitosan, yeast extract and pectin. For the production of decursinol angelate, ca rboxymethyl-$\beta$-chitin and glucan were found to be the most efficient elicitors. The e nhanced accumulation of decursinol angelate was proportional to the increase of the phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) activity after the treatment with most of the elicitors. However, carboxymethyl-$\beta$-chitin treatment did not stimulate the PAL activity, despite the 1.6-fold increase in the decursinol angelate production.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.131-141
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• 1988

The effects of decursinol and decursin on chloroplast-mediated electron transport and phosphorylation in barley seedlings were investigated in comparison with coumarin in the dark or light. The changes of CP-complexes were also studied. Decursinol, decursin and coumarin caused marked inhibitory effects on germination of seed and electron transport and phosphorylation activity of seedlings. The following order of inhibitory effectiveness was exhibited; decursinol>coumarin>decursin. Loss of chlorophyll and decrease of electron transport activity were retarded in the dark, but were reversely accelerated in the light by these three chemicals. The changes of CP-complex patterns were also similar to effects on chlorophyll content and the electron transport activity. These opposite effect in the dark and light suggest that these three chemicals act as natural growth retardants rather than cytokinins or growth inhibitors.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2016

With the goal of developing Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics, we have designed and synthesized new triazole linked decursinol derivatives having potency inhibitory activities against cholinesterase [acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE)]. Since inhibition of cholinesterase (ChE) is still considered to be one of the most effective targets to treat AD patients, many new classes of ChE inhibitors have been synthesized. In an effort of identifying new type of cholinergic drug, decursinol derivatives 11-17 have been synthesized between decursinol and other biological interesting compounds such as lipoic acid, polyphenols, etc by using the click reaction and then evaluated their biological activities. Compound 12 (IC₅₀ = 5.89 ± 0.31 mM against BuChE) showed more effective inhibitory activity against BuChE than galantamine (IC₅₀ = 9.4 ± 2.5 mM). Decursinol derivatives can be considered a new class inhibitor for BuChE and can be applied to be a novel drug candidate to treat AD patients.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.305-308
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• 2002

Decursinol angelate, a new anticancer agent, was produced by root cultures of Angelica gigas Nakai. In addition, difference of specific yields between primary and secondary root was investigated. It was found that specific yield of secondary root was much higher than that of primary root at various conditions, so that it was thought that the formation and growth of secondary root were feasible. From this point of view, effects of root segmentation and plant growth regulators (NAA, IBA) on root morphology and decursinol angelate production were examined. Root segmentation increased secondary root mass and product formation. On the other hand, addition of NAA or IBA at various concentrations promoted secondary root formation and production of decursinol angelate significantly. Five-fold increase of production was obtained at 4 mg/L of IBA compared to control without NAA and IBA.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2011

Rust causes significant losses in the yield and quality of various crops. The development of new effective and environmentally benign agents against the pathogen is of great interest. In the course of searching a natural antifungal compound from medicinal plants, we found that the methanol extract of Angelica gigas roots had a potent control efficacy against wheat leaf rust (WLR) caused by Puccinia recondita. The antifungal substance was isolated from the methanol extract by silica gel column chromatography, alumina column chromatography and $C_{18}$ preparative HPLC. It was identified as decursinol angelate by EI-MS and $^1H$-NMR data. In in vivo test, decursinol angelate effectively suppressed the development of WLR and red pepper anthracnose (RPA) among the 6 plant diseases tested. In addition, the wettable powder-type formulation of ethyl acetate extract of A. gigas roots significantly suppressed the development of WLR. The crude extract containing decursinol angelate and the chemical appear to be a potential candidate for control of WLR. In addition, this is the first report on the in vivo antifungal activity of decursinol angelate against WLR as well as RPA.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 1993

In order to clarify the contents of active principles in floral inhibition cultured Angelica gigas roots, the amounts of crude extract and the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate in the yearly roots were analyzed and compared with respect to the root age, root part and growth stage. The woody cell, weight and width of pith and cortex were also investigated at different growth stage to observe the developmental characteristics of lignification in the roots as bolting and flowering in normal cultured Angelica gigas. The amount of crude extracts did not differ with plant ages, whereas the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate were differed and the highest in 3 year old roots. The contents of decursin in 1, 2 and 3 year old roots were 3.71, 4.76 and 8.20% and those of decursinol angel ate were 2.84, 3.40 and 5.01%, respectively. The amount of crude extracts, and the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate were the highest in fine roots, followed by the lateral roots and the lowest in the primary roots. On the other hand, the amount of the constituents in the cortex were much higher than those in the pith of the root. The amounts of crude extract, and the contents of decursin and decursinol angelate showed the highest value at the vagetative stage and decreased with development to bolting and blooming stage. Woody cells were accumulated in the pith of the root as advancing growth stage, so that the weight and radius of the pith increased, whereas the relative weight and width of the cortex decreased slightly.