One pair of new enantiomeric trinorsesquiterpenes from the aerial parts of Justicia gendarussa

Abstract

A pair of new enantiomeric trinorsesquiterpenes, (+)-genpenterpene A (1a) and (-)-genpenterpene A (1b), together with seven known compounds (2–8), were isolated from the aerial parts of Justicia gendarussa Burm.f.. All of these known compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. Racemic genpenterpene A was separated by chiral HPLC column. Their chemical structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and ECD calculations. (+)-genpenterpene A (1a) exhibited potent inhibitory effect against nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells with an IC₅₀ value of 9.54 ± 1.02 μM.

Graphical abstract

Keywords:

• Acanthaceae
• Justicia gendarussa
• X-ray diffraction
• ECD calculations
• enantiomers
• anti-inflammatory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the grant (2017-110108-83-03-001423) from State Bureau of Chinese Medicine, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81573578) and Guangzhou Project of Science and Technology (201704030120).