Compounds from the aerial parts of Vernonia cinerea with anti-inflammatory activity

Abstract

Two novel compounds Yexiangniuside A (1) and B (2) along with six known sesquiterpene lactones 3–8 were isolated from the aerial parts of Vernonia cinerea. The structures of the isolated compounds were conclusively determined through extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectral analyses. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were proposed based on computational ECD spectrum predictions, and their molecular formulas were determined using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS). Subsequently, the anti-inflammatory activities of compounds 1–8 were evaluated in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells inflammatory model. The results demonstrated that compounds 1–5 significantly inhibited the activity of LPS-stimulated inflammatory factors (NO, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10) at concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 20 μM. These findings confirmed that compounds 1–5 are the basis for the anti-inflammatory activity of Vernonia cinerea.