Anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene dimers from Chloranthus fortunei

Abstract

A novel lindenane sesquiterpene with an unprecedented 18-membered triester ring, named chlorafortulide (1), along with one known lindenane sesquiterpene (2) and nine known lindenane sesquiterpene dimers (3–11), was isolated from the whole plant of Chloranthus fortunei. Their structures and relative configurations were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. All the isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells. Henriol D (4), shizukaols E (8), G (9), M (10), and O (11) showed significant anti-inflammatory activities with IC₅₀ values of 1.90, 3.68, 1.95, 7.01, and 1.95 μM, respectively.

Keywords:

• lindenane sesquiterpene
• chlorafortulide
• Chloranthus fortunei
• anti-inflammatory activity

Acknowledgments

This study was supported partially by the Key Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30830116), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.