On the afternoon of 24 March, at VNUHCM–University of Science (HCMUS), researcher Đỗ Văn Nhật Trường successfully defended a doctoral thesis at the institutional level in Organic Chemistry. The research is entitled: “Study on the chemical constituents, xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity, and anti-inflammatory activity of Gnetum montanum Markgr.”, conducted under the academic supervision of Professor Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai.

The work focuses on investigating the chemical composition and biological activity of the G. montanum species in Viet Nam, thereby adding scientific data to this medicinal material and providing a basis for applied research orientations in the field of healthcare.

From the screening process of 22 methanol (MeOH) extract samples from 18 medicinal plant species according to the ability to inhibit the xanthine oxidase (XO) enzyme—an enzyme related to the formation of uric acid in gout—the project recorded 12 samples with good activity (IC₅₀ < 100 µg/mL). Among these, the extract sample from the G. montanum stem showed outstanding results with an IC₅₀ value of 76.7 µg/mL. On this basis, the researcher selected the stem of this species for further in-depth investigation.

One of the prominent results is the successful isolation and structural identification of 47 compounds from the EtOAc extract of the G. montanum stem. Notably, the research group published 11 new compounds discovered for the first time, including 7 compounds belonging to the stilbene group, 2 2-phenylbenzofuran compounds, 1 lignan compound, and 1 phenolic acid glycoside compound. Simultaneously, this is also the first time two groups of compounds, anthraquinone and cycloartane triterpene, have been recorded in this species.

In addition to clarifying the chemical composition, the work also evaluates the biological activity of the extracts and compounds isolated from G. montanum. The results show that the test samples exhibit remarkable XO enzyme inhibition and anti-inflammatory capacity, whilst showing no toxicity to RAW264.7 cells at the tested concentrations.

Specifically, the EtOAc extract showed the strongest XO inhibition with an IC₅₀ value of 25.3 µg/mL. At the molecular level, 10 compounds exhibited XO inhibitory activity and 19 compounds showed anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of NO production) with IC₅₀ values < 100 µM. Among these, 6 newly isolated compounds showed good XO inhibitory effects; whereas in the anti-inflammatory test, stilbene framework compounds recorded outstanding results, typically isorhapontigenin with an IC₅₀ value of 5.9 µM, which is superior to the positive control quercetin (14.0 µM).

Another noteworthy point is the optimisation of the isolation process for two highly active compounds: resveratrol (5.0 g) and isorhapontigenin (50.0 g). On this basis, the researcher successfully established reference standards for these two compounds with purities reaching 99.14% and 96.38% respectively. This result contributes to the quantification of the main compounds, aiming at quality control for medicinal materials and products derived from G. montanum in the future.

The Examination Board acknowledged the serious research effort, the large volume of work, and the scientific and practical value of the project. The achieved results not only supplement data on the phytochemistry and biological activity of G. montanum in Viet Nam, but also contribute to clarifying the potential of this species in the development of herbal products.