Protective constituents against sepsis in mice from the root cortex of Paeonia suffruticosa.

The bioassay-guided fractionation of protective agents against sepsis-induced lethality from the root cortex of Paeonia suffruticosa ANDREWS (Ranunculaceae) led to the isolation of eight known compounds: paeonol (1), 2,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxyacetophenone (2), acetovanillone (3), paeonoside (4), paeoniflorin (5), oxypaeoniflorin (6), apiopaeonoside (7), and methyl 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoate (8). Among them, 3 showed the highest survival rate (100% with a dose of 30 mg/kg versus 17% for the control experiment) and reduced alanine aminotransferase level to be a half of the control value on the sepsis model induced by lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine.