Novel Compounds Isolated from Bee Pollen

Pollenopyrroside A and B, Novel Pyrrole Ketohexoside Derivatives from Bee-Collected Brassica campestris Pollen
Chem. Pharm. Bull, 58(7) 983—985 (2010)

Bee-collected pollen is a hive product that bees pack pollen grains from the flower into pollen pellets on their hind legs with the help of combs and hairs, to feed their larvae in the early stages of development.

The constituents of pollen are different according to the floral species or cultivars, while flavonols are commonly encountered in the pollen of flowering plants and perform an essential physiological function
in pollen germination and pollen tube growth.

Brassica campestris L., also called rape, belongs to Brassica genus (Crucifer) and is widely grown in south of China as an economic crop. Bee-collected Brassica campestris pollen is often used in China as a healthy food and an herbal medicine in strengthening the body’s resistance against disease. It has
already been found to possess a wide range of biological activities, including antioxidant, antitumor, regulating serum lipids, and treatment of prostatitis.

Up to date, bee-collected Brassica campestris pollen are known as a rich source of protein, polysaccharide, fatty acid and flavonoids. In our study on the active components of bee-collected Brassica campestris pollen, two novel pyrrole ketohexoside derivatives, named pollenopyrroside A (1) and pollenopyrroside B (2), were isolated from it. Their structures were identified on basis of spectroscopic data (UV, IR, MS, NMR and X-ray) and chemical evidence.

Compounds 1 and 2 are two novel pyrrole ketohexoside derivatives with five–six and six–six member dioxaspirocycle, respectively (Fig. 1). Their cytotoxicities were evaluated against A549, Bel7420, BGC-823, HCT-8, and A2780...