Highlights

• The study discovered a novel gastrodin isocitrate and six new parishin derivatives from Gastrodia elata, contributing to the chemical diversity of compounds potentially beneficial for Alzheimer’s treatment.
• Two newly discovered compounds exhibited significant neuroprotective effects in an oxidative stress-induced neuronal injury model.
• Molecular docking analysis confirmed the essential compounds’ strong interactions with proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, supporting their potential therapeutic roles.

Summary

This research focuses on new compounds from the plant Gastrodia elata Blume, commonly used for treating neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study isolated and identified seven new gastrodin derivatives, including a unique gastrodin isocitrate and six parishin derivatives with varying substitutions. The researchers applied comprehensive analytical techniques like NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and HPLC.

Notably, the stereochemistry of the gastrodin isocitrate was specifically analyzed using electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Two compounds showed significant neuroprotective effects in a cellular model of oxidative stress-induced neuron damage. Molecular docking studies also confirmed the strong affinity of these compounds for the main AD-related proteins.

Overall, the findings highlight the potential of newly discovered compounds in G. elata as candidates for developing treatments against AD. This enriches the chemical diversity of neuroprotective molecules and supports the use of food-derived substances for medical purposes.

J. Zhou et al., “Isolation, Bioactivity, and Molecular Docking of a Rare Gastrodin Isocitrate and Diverse Parishin Derivatives from Gastrodia elata Blume,” ACS Omega, vol. 9, no. 12, pp. 14520–14529, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c00436.