Abstract
Background
The chemical constituents of Citrus × sphaerocarpa Y. Nakaj. ex H. Ohba, a cultivated Citrus species, remain insufficiently characterized despite its agricultural relevance. To expand knowledge of bioactive metabolites in Citrus plants, a methanol extract of C. × sphaerocarpa peels was investigated.
Methods
The methanol extract from C. × sphaerocarpa peels was repeatedly separated and purified, and the structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry analyses. The anti-proliferative activities of the isolated compounds were assessed using the WST-8 assay.
Results
A novel limonoid derivative, 21,23-dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin, was isolated from the peels, along with two known limonoids, limonexic acid and shihulimonin A. None of the compounds showed significant anti-proliferative activity against human glioblastoma cell lines T98G and U-251 MG.
Conclusions
This study provides the first detailed characterization of limonoids from C. × sphaerocarpa, contributing to a deeper chemotaxonomic understanding of this cultivated Citrus species.
1. Introduction
Citrus fruits are recognized as rich sources of diverse secondary metabolites, including carotenoids, coumarins, flavonoids, and limonoids.
1
Many of these constituents exhibit notable biological activities, such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and antimutagenic properties,2-5 making Citrus species important targets for phytochemical and pharmacological studies.
6
Limonoids are characteristic tetranortriterpenoids predominantly found in the Rutaceae and Meliaceae families and serve as valuable chemotaxonomic markers due to their structurally conserved biosynthetic origins.
7
C. × sphaerocarpa Y. Nakaj. ex H. Ohba, commonly known as “Kabosu,” is a cultivated Citrus species widely used in Japan as a seasoning fruit.
8
Kabosu is one of the major sour citrus cultivars traditionally cultivated in Japan, particularly in Oita Prefecture, where it represents a regionally important agricultural product. It has been cultivated for several centuries and is widely consumed as a fresh seasoning fruit or processed into vinegars, dressings, and beverages due to its characteristic refreshing aroma and strong acidity.
8
Annual production of Kabosu reaches several thousand tons, underscoring its commercial importance among Japanese citrus crops.
8
Genetic and chemotaxonomic studies have suggested that C. × sphaerocarpa is a natural hybrid of C. reticulata and C. junos, both of which are known to accumulate structurally diverse limonoids.9,10 Previous phytochemical investigations of related Citrus species, including C. junos, C. hassaku, and C. × sphaerocarpa,11-13 revealed the presence of nomilin-type and limonin-type limonoids, some of which exhibit cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, or insect antifeedant activities.
14
However, despite the agricultural and commercial relevance of C. × sphaerocarpa, its limonoid composition remains insufficiently characterized. In addition, no comprehensive study has yet focused on its fruit peels.
15
In an attempt to fill this gap, we here report the isolation and structural elucidation of a novel limonoid, 21,23-dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin (
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. General Experimental Procedures
Specific rotations were measured using a P-2200 digital polarimeter (l= 5 cm; JASCO, Tokyo, Japan). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were recorded on a JASCO FT/IR-4600 spectrometer. Ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis) spectra were acquired on a Shimadzu UV-1850 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). High-resolution electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) was performed using a JMS-T100LP AccuTOFLC-Plus 4G instrument (JEOL, Tokyo, Japan). 1H (600 MHz), 13C (150 MHz), and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were recorded using a JEOL JNM-ECZ 600R spectrometer. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed using an SPD-10AvpUV-vis detector (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan), an LC-10ADvp pump (Shimadzu), an SCL-10Avp system controller (Shimadzu), and LabSolutions LC software (ver. 1.25, Shimadzu) along with two COSMOSIL 5C18-AR-II columns (Nacalai Tesque), 250 × 4.6 mm i.d., and 250 × 10 mm i.d., for analytical and preparative purposes, respectively. Solvent ratios are based on volume. IR, UV, and MS spectra were recorded using HPLC or spectroscopic-grade methanol (Wako Pure Chemical, Japan).
2.2. Plant Material
The fruits of C. sphaerocarpa 16 were collected in Oita Prefecture, Japan, in August 2022. The present study employed the same batch of plant material (voucher no. SOCU-CS-11) as that used in our previous study. 13 Voucher specimens have been deposited in the herbarium of the Sanyo-Onoda City University, Yamaguchi, Japan. The plant material was examined and identified by Prof. Hiroyuki Tanaka (PhD), Department of Pharmacognosy and Kampo, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sanyo-Onoda City University. Total DNA was extracted from plant samples, and their PCR amplification and sequencing were performed by Rizo Inc. (Sample number: PD0166, Tsukuba, Japan). 17 The obtained nucleotide sequences were analyzed using the BLAST tool available at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. BLAST analysis was also conducted by Rizo Inc. Sequences were queried against the NCBI nucleotide collection (nr/nt) database using default parameters. In this study, BLAST results for the same voucher specimen (SOCU-CS-11) showed the highest sequence similarity to C. junos Siebold ex Tanaka and C. reticulata Blanco. This result is consistent with the known hybrid origin and taxonomic complexity within the Citrus genus,9,10,16 supporting the identification of the material as C. sphaerocarpa (Figure S1.1.1–5).
2.3. Extraction and Isolation
The extraction and fractionation procedures for the preparation of fraction CSEA8 followed our previously reported method. 18 Briefly, dried peels (22.0 kg) were extracted with MeOH, and the MeOH extract was partitioned into EtOAc-, n-BuOH-, and H2O-soluble fractions. The EtOAc-soluble fraction was subjected to successive normal-phase and reversed-phase silica gel chromatography to obtain fractions CSEA8-1–12. Fraction CSEA8-6 was further separated by repeated HPLC purification to obtain subfractions CSEA8-6-1–17.
In the present study, compound Skeletal (shorthand) structures of compounds isolated from Citrus × sphaerocarpa Y. Nakaj. ex H. Ohba peels
2.4. 21,23-Dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin (1 )
*in chloroform-d.
**in acetone-d6.
***in methanol-d4.
2.5. Cell Culture
T98G (RCB1954) and U-251 MG (IFO50288) cells were maintained as reported previously. 11
2.6. WST-8 Assay
Cell proliferation was determined using a cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8: Wako Pure Chemical Industries) according to the manufacturer’s instructions and by modifying a previously described method. 21 Cells were seeded at a density of 3.0×103 cells/100 µL per well in 96-well cell culture plates (Coster 3596; Corning, NY, USA). 21 After approximately 24 h, the cells were treated with Adriamycin (Wako Pure Chemical Industries) or the isolated compounds (30 and 60 µM) for 24 h. Next, CCK-8 solution (10 µL) was added to the plates and incubated in a CO2 incubator for 2 h19. Absorbance was measured at 450 and 620 nm using a microplate reader (Multiskan FC; Thermo Fisher Scientific, MA, USA). 21
2.7. Statistical Analysis
Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism software (version 8.43; GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA) using the Dunnett’s test to analyze differences between treatment groups. Differences were considered significant at *P< 0.001 when compared against DMSO-treated cells.
3. Results
3.1. Isolating Limonoids From C. × Sphaerocarpa
The extraction and fractionation procedures for obtaining the EtOAc-soluble fraction and fraction CSEA8 followed our previously reported method.
13
In the present study, repeated HPLC purification afforded a new limonoid: 21,23-dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin (
3.2. Structure of 21,23-Dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin (1 )
21,23-Dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin ( Important 2D NMR and NOESY correlations for 21,23-dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin (
3.3. Evaluating Anti-proliferative Effects
The anti-proliferative activities of the isolated compounds (
4. Discussion
Citrus species are known to produce a wide variety of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, limonoids, and coumarins.
1
Limonoids are tetranortriterpenoids characteristic to plants belonging to the Rutaceae and Meliaceae families and hold significant chemotaxonomic importance.
7
C. × sphaerocarpa is suggested to be a hybrid of C. reticulata and C. junos.9,10 Therefore, its limonoid profile may reflect its phylogenetic background. In this study, one new limonoid (
This structural feature is consistent with 21,23-dihydro-21-oxolimonin
19
obtained from the peels of C. reticulata and junosterpene
11
isolated from the seeds of C. junos. Hence, it can be suggested that C. × sphaerocarpa retains the limonoid biosynthetic pathways characteristic of Rutaceae. Furthermore, the limonoid profile of C. × sphaerocarpa is notable for its higher diversity than those of C. limon
27
and C. hassaku.
12
Such differences may reflect variations in fruit maturation stage, genetic background, or enzyme activities involved in the redox balance of limonoid biosynthesis.7,26 In the biological activity assays, compounds
5. Conclusion
21,23-Dihydro-21-oxodeacetylnomilin (
Supplemental Material
Supplemental Material - Limonoids from cultivated Citrus × sphaerocarpa Y. Nakaj. ex H. Ohba
Supplemental Material for Limonoids from cultivated Citrus × sphaerocarpa Y. Nakaj. ex H. Ohba by Daisuke Imahori, Takuya Muraoka, Yuya Nakao and Hiroyuki Tanaka in Natural Product Communications.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): KAKENHI Grant Numbers 22K20720 and 23K16308. We thank Ms. Runa Kono (Division of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sanyo-Onoda City University) for assisting with sample preparation. The authors gratefully acknowledge the use of the Joint Research Equipment Network at Hiroshima University and thank Dr. Takehiro Hirao for his technical support.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical Approval is not applicable for this article.
Consent to Participate
There are no human subjects in this article and informed consent is not applicable.
Author Contributions
Daisuke Imahori: Writing–original draft, Project administration, Conceptualization. Takuya Muraoka: Data curation, Formal analysis. Yuya Nakao: Data curation. Hiroyuki Tanaka: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Conceptualization.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): KAKENHI Grant Numbers 22K20720 and 23K16308.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.
Statement of Human and Animal Rights
This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.
Supplemental Material
Supplemental material for this article is available online. 1H, 13C, 2D NMR, CD, IR, UV, and MS spectra of new compound
References
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