•One new compound and nineteen known compounds were isolated and characterized.•Ten compounds and total flavonoids exhibited anti-complementary activities in vitro.•Six compounds and total flavonoids inhibited α-glucosidase activity in vitro.•Total flavonoids showed antihyperglycaemic effects on STZ-induced diabetic mice.•G. hypoleucum could be used as functional food applications for diabetics.Gnaphalium hypoleucum DC is used as a wild vegetable, named “Qing Ming Cai”, as well as a folk medicine in China. One new compound, Gnaphaliin C, and nineteen known compounds were isolated and indentified from G. hypoleucum, total flavonoids were analyzed by UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS. The α-glucosidase inhibitory and anti-complementary activities of all compounds and total flavonoids were evaluated. Total flavonoids and ten compounds exhibited anti-complementary activities. Total flavonoids and six compounds inhibited α-glucosidase. The antihyperglycaemic effects of total flavonoids were investigated by streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Total flavonoids improved the glucose tolerance and decreased blood sugar, increased muscle glycogen content, decreased the levels of triacylglycerol (TG) and total cholesterol (TC), enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level in diabetic mice. G. hypoleucum and its total flavonoids could be used as functional food for diabetics.

The fruiting bodies or mycelia of mushrooms have been used as food and food-flavoring material for centuries due to their nutritional and medicinal value and the diversity of their bioactive components. The present research is the first to investigate the bioactive secondary metabolites from the solid culture of the edible mushroom Neolentinus lepideus. Two new secondary metabolites, 5-methoxyisobenzofuran-4,7(1H,3H)-dione (1) and 1,3-dihydroisobenzofuran-4,6-diol (2), as well as seven known compounds including one benzoquinone derivative (3) and six cinnamic acid derivatives (4–9) were obtained. Their structures were established by means of spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR. The bioactivity on the nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages was evaluated for all metabolites (1–9) isolated. Compound 1 showed strong NO inhibitory activity with the IC50 value of 6.2 μM. Compound 2 displayed moderate NO inhibitory activity with the IC50 value of 88.8 μM. In the DPPH scavenging assay, compound 2 displayed antioxidant activity with IC50 of 68.6 μM. The discovery of new NO production inhibitors from N. lepideus expands its usage as a functional food.•Two NO production inhibitors were isolated from the culture of Neolentinus lepideus.•The structure of 1 and 2 was elucidated by NMR and MS data analysis.•Compound 1 showed strong NO inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 6.2 μM.•Compound 2 displayed moderates NO inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 88.8 μM.

Eleutherosides are important active ingredients of Acanthopanax senticosus, the method for purification of eleutherosides has attracted much attention. In this article, a method for purification of eleutherosides by macroporous resin and the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of elution fractions from Acanthopanax senticosus extract are investigated. Choosing syringin and eleutheroside E as an indication of eleutherosides, the adsorption characteristics and elution parameters of eleutherosides were investigated from Acanthopanax senticosus extract by various types of macroporous resins. The results show HPD100 provides a much higher adsorption and desorption capacity and the retention rates of syringin and eleutheroside E in the product were 95.43% and 94.96%, respectively. Moreover, the 10–80% ethanol elution fractions were collected from the purification process. We examined the anti-inflammatory activity by evaluating Nitric Oxide (NO) production and the antioxidant activities of eight ethanol elution fractions. As a result, 10–80% ethanol elution fractions showed strong concentration-dependent NO production inhibitory activities and antioxidant activities. The 30–50% ethanol elution fractions are shown to be more active than other fractions for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, no cytotoxicity was observed from the three most potent fractions.

A new method using ultrahigh pressure was used to extract palmatine and berberine from the barks of cortex Phellodendri amurensis. The optimal conditions for ultrahigh pressure extraction (UPE) of palmatine and berberine were quantified by HPLC-DAD with standard samples. Orthogonal design was applied to evaluate the effects of four independent factors (extraction pressure, extraction temperature, liquid/solid ratio and ethanol concentration) on the yield. The optimal conditions of ultrahigh pressure extraction were obtained at an extraction pressure of 400 MPa, extraction temperature of 40 °C, extraction time of 4 min, a liquid/solid ratio of 30:1 and an ethanol concentration of 50%. The results showed that the UPE method can produce palmatine and berberine with the highest yield. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the plant cells after ultrahigh pressure treatment were obtained to provide visual evidence of the disruption effect. Compared with other extraction techniques, such as reflux, ultrasonic, and soxhlet extraction, UPE shows several advantages, such as higher extraction yield, less extraction time, lower extraction temperature and energy consumption. Moreover, UPE may be also a better way to be applied in industry.

Eryngiolide A (1), the first member of C20 diterpenoids with the skeleton deriving from a cyclododecane core fused with two γ-lactone units, was isolated from the solid culture of the edible mushroom Pleurotus eryngii. The structure of 1 was elucidated by extensive analysis of NMR spectra. Compound 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against two human cancer lines in vitro.

In vitro anti-allergic screening of medicinal herbal extracts revealed that the 80% acetone extract of the rhizome of Kadsura coccinea inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and recombinant mouse interferon-γ (IFN-γ) activated murine macrophage like cell line, RAW264.7. Further fractionation of the EtOAc extract led to the isolation of one new 3,4-seco-lanostane type triterpene named kadsuracoccin acid A (1) together with two known triterpenes anwuweizonic acid (2) and neokadsuranic acid B (3). Compounds 1 − 3 did not exhibit any inhibitory activities for NO production and IFN-γ activation.

A new method using ultrahigh pressure was used to extract palmatine and berberine from the barks of cortex Phellodendri amurensis. The optimal conditions for ultrahigh pressure extraction (UPE) of palmatine and berberine were quantified by HPLC-DAD with standard samples. Orthogonal design was applied to evaluate the effects of four independent factors (extraction pressure, extraction temperature, liquid/solid ratio and ethanol concentration) on the yield. The optimal conditions of ultrahigh pressure extraction were obtained at an extraction pressure of 400 MPa, extraction temperature of 40 °C, extraction time of 4 min, a liquid/solid ratio of 30:1 and an ethanol concentration of 50%. The results showed that the UPE method can produce palmatine and berberine with the highest yield. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the plant cells after ultrahigh pressure treatment were obtained to provide visual evidence of the disruption effect. Compared with other extraction techniques, such as reflux, ultrasonic, and soxhlet extraction, UPE shows several advantages, such as higher extraction yield, less extraction time, lower extraction temperature and energy consumption. Moreover, UPE may be also a better way to be applied in industry.

Eleutherosides are important active ingredients of Acanthopanax senticosus, the method for purification of eleutherosides has attracted much attention. In this article, a method for purification of eleutherosides by macroporous resin and the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of elution fractions from Acanthopanax senticosus extract are investigated. Choosing syringin and eleutheroside E as an indication of eleutherosides, the adsorption characteristics and elution parameters of eleutherosides were investigated from Acanthopanax senticosus extract by various types of macroporous resins. The results show HPD100 provides a much higher adsorption and desorption capacity and the retention rates of syringin and eleutheroside E in the product were 95.43% and 94.96%, respectively. Moreover, the 10–80% ethanol elution fractions were collected from the purification process. We examined the anti-inflammatory activity by evaluating Nitric Oxide (NO) production and the antioxidant activities of eight ethanol elution fractions. As a result, 10–80% ethanol elution fractions showed strong concentration-dependent NO production inhibitory activities and antioxidant activities. The 30–50% ethanol elution fractions are shown to be more active than other fractions for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, no cytotoxicity was observed from the three most potent fractions.