Inhibition of Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells by Cucurbitanes from Momordica charantia.
Nguyen Quoc TuanDo-Hyung LeeJoonseok OhChung Sub KimKyung-Sun HeoChang-Seon MyungMin Kyun NaPublished in: Journal of natural products (2017)
The cucurbitaceous plant Momordica charantia L., named "bitter melon", inhabits Asia, Africa, and South America and has been used as a traditional medicine. The atypical proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) plays an important role in triggering the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is regarded as the most powerful growth factor in promoting the intimal accumulation of VSMCs. The current study features the identification of six new cucurbitane-type triterpenoids (1-6) from the fruits of M. charantia, utilizing diverse chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. In particular, the 2D structure of 1 was confirmed utilizing the long-range HSQMBC NMR pulse, capable of measuring heteronuclear long-range correlations (4-6JCH). The cucurbitanes were also assessed for their inhibitory activity against PDGF-induced VSMC proliferation. This current study may constitute a basis for developing those chemotypes into sensible pharmacophores alleviating cardiovascular disorders.