Chemical components as a potential resource for synthesis of organic compounds and anti-inflammatory activity of essential bark oil of Illicium verum

In this work, the essential bark oil (EBO) of Illicium verum cultivated at Cao Bang in Vietnam obtained by hydro-distillation was investigated for its chemical composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Trans-anethole (78.6%), estragole (13.7%), linalool (2.1%) and eucalyptol (2.0%) were determined to be the main components among 14 identified compounds, which accounted for 96.4% of the total EBO. Anti-inflammatory activity of EBO was evaluated by inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. EBO exhibited an interesting inhibitory effect on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW246.7 cells with an inhibitory value at 93.87 μg/mL. From the starting material, trans-anethole isolated from EBO, there are two new amine-derivatives that were synthesized. The structure elucidation of these analogues of trans-anethole was carried out by 1D (1H NMR and 13C NMR) and IR spectral analysis.