Dracacochins A-H, undescribed flavonoid dimers and monomers from the red resin of Dracaena cochinchinensis and their anti-renal fibrosis activities

  • Phytochemistry. 2026 May 18:250:114971. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2026.114971.
Yu-Jie Wang  1 ,  Tian-Chang He  2 ,  Jing-Jing Qi  3 ,  Wen-Jing Yao  2 ,  Yun-Yun Liu  2 ,  Dong-Li Li  4 ,  Hong Nie  5 ,  Yong-Xian Cheng  6
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Natural Bioactive Molecules and Discovery of Innovative Drugs/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research/International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Ministry of Education (MOE) of China, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, PR China.
  • 2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Ingredients and Gut Microbiomics, Institute for Inheritance-Based Innovation of Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, PR China.
  • 3. Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs Research, College of Pharmacy, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, PR China.
  • 4. School of Pharmacy and Food Engineering, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, 529020, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 5. State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Natural Bioactive Molecules and Discovery of Innovative Drugs/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmacodynamic Constituents of TCM and New Drugs Research/International Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization and Innovative Drug Development of Ministry of Education (MOE) of China, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Ingredients and Gut Microbiomics, Institute for Inheritance-Based Innovation of Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, PR China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 42155757 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2026.114971
Abstract

Eight undescribed Flavonoids including three dimers (1-3) and five monomers (4-8), together with ten known compounds (9-18) were isolated from the resins of Dracaena cochinchinensis (Chinese dragon's blood). Structurally, compounds 1-3 are novel dimers of flavane and dihydrochalcone with a unique dibenzopyran ring. Their structures were determined using a combination of spectroscopic analyses and quantum chemical ECD calculations. The biological evaluation of these isolated compounds for anti-renal fibrosis activity demonstrated that compounds 4-6 effectively downregulated the protein expression levels of fibronectin, Collagen I, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced rat renal proximal tubular cells (NRK-52e) and normal rat kidney interstitial fibroblasts (NRK-49f). Moreover, compound 4 could significantly reduce the expression of all the above proteins in a dose-dependent manner in both cell lines.

Keywords
Dracaena cochinchinensis; Flavonoid dimers; Flavonoids; Renal fibrosis.
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