Abstract
A new lignan named kerinol (1) as well as 12 known compounds were isolated from the twigs of Kerria japonica (L.) DC (Rosaceae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. Linariin (3) and isolinariin B (4), two major flavonoids of K. japonica, were found to exhibit significant anti-inflammatory activities in mice in vivo with an inhibitory rate of 25.5% (p < 0.001) and 13.1% (p < 0.05), respectively.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to The National Center for Drug Screening and to Mr Xin-Quan Ji of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences for the anti-inflammatory assay and partial financial support from Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (06DZ22028).