Photosensitive compounds found in herbs have been reported in recent years as having a variety of interesting medicinal and biological activities. In this review, we focus on photosensitizers such as hypericin and its model compounds emodin, quinizarin, and danthron, which have antiviral, antifungal, antineoplastic, and antitumor effects. They can be utilized as potential agents in photodynamic therapy, especially in photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer. We aimed to give a comprehensive summary of the physical and chemical properties of these interesting molecules, emphasizing their mechanism of action in relation to their different interactions with biomacromolecules, specifically with DNA.
- MeSH
- Anthraquinones chemistry MeSH
- Photochemotherapy MeSH
- Photosensitizing Agents chemistry pharmacology MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Neoplasms drug therapy MeSH
- Perylene analogs & derivatives chemistry pharmacology MeSH
- Antineoplastic Agents chemistry pharmacology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
During our investigation on the endophytic fungi of Azadirachta indica, the strain YM 311593 was obtained from the fruit of the plant. The culture extract of the strain showed antifungal activities against four phytopathogenic fungi. Based on the morphological features and phylogenetic definition, the strain YM 311593 was identified as Paraconiothyrium sp. Four xanthones and one anthraquinone were obtained from the extract of the fermentation broth of the strain. They were characterized to be globosuxanthone A (1), vertixanthone (2), hydroxyvertixanthone (3), 3,8-dihydroxy-1-methy1-9H- xanthen-9-one (4), and danthron (5), respectively, by spectroscopic elucidation. Furthermore, the absolute configuration of 1 was deduced by X-ray diffraction analysis. Besides, compound 4 was firstly found from natural sources. The antifungal activities of compounds 1-5 towards four phytopathogens were assayed using broth microdilution method. Among them, globosuxanthone A (1) showed obvious antifungal activity towards Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium solani, and Botrytis cinerea with MIC values of 4, 8, and 16 μg/mL, respectively.
- MeSH
- Ascomycota chemistry isolation & purification MeSH
- Azadirachta microbiology MeSH
- Endophytes chemistry isolation & purification MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Fungi drug effects MeSH
- Culture Media chemistry MeSH
- Fruit microbiology MeSH
- Fungicides, Industrial isolation & purification pharmacology MeSH
- Xanthones isolation & purification pharmacology MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH