Two new bromoindole alkaloids have been isolated from the ethanolic extract of the red alga Laurencia similis. On the basis of chemical and spectroscopic methods （including 1D and 2D NMR technique）, their structures have been elucidated as 2,2＇,5,5＇,6,6＇- sixibromo-3, 3＇-bi-lH-indole and 3, 5-dibromo-1-methylindole, respectively.
Hua SuZhao Hui YuanJing LiShu Ju GuoLi Ping DengLi Jun HanXiao Bin ZhuDa Yong Shi
Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) plays an important role as a negative regulator in insulin signaling pathways. PTP1B is an effective target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Four bromophenol derivatives from red algae Rhodomela confervoides, 2,2′,3,3′-tetrabromo-4,4′,5,5′-tetra- hydroxydiphenyl methane (1), 3-bormo-4,5-bis(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl) pyrocatechol (2), bis(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl) ether (3) and 2,2′,3-tribromo-3′,4,4′,5-tetrahydroxy-6′-ethyloxy- methyldiphenylmethane (4) showed significant inhibitory activity against PTP1B (IC50 were 2.4, 1.7, 1.5 and 0.84 μmol/L, respectively) as potential therapeutical agents for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The anti-hyperglycemic effects of the ethanol extracts from R. confervoides on streptozoto- cin-induced diabetes (STZ-diabetes) in male Wistar rats fed with high fat diet were investigated. The STZ-diabetic rats treated with medium-dose and high-dose alga extracts showed remarkable reductions in fasting blood glucose (FBG) as compared with the STZ-diabetic control. The results indicate that the in vivo anti-hyperglycemic activity of the R. confervoides extracts can be partially attributed to the in- hibitory actions against PTP1B of the bromophenol derivatives and that may be of clinical importance in improving the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B （PTP1B） plays an important role as a negative regulator and has been proved to be an effective target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Bis-（2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxyphenyl）-methane 7 was first reported as a natural bromophenol with significant inhibition against PTP1B which was isolated from red algae Rhodomela conrervoides. Intrigued by its astonishing activity （IC50 = 2.4 μmol/L）, compound 7 was synthesized with the overall yield of 24% and evaluated for its PTPIB inhibitory activity compared with natural compound.
