Chemical Constituents and an Antineuroinflammatory Lignan, Savinin from the Roots of .

The phytochemical investigation on the roots of (Araliaceae) resulted in the discovery of twenty compounds whose chemical structures were elucidated by the analysis of 1D-, 2D-NMR, mass spectrometry data, other physicochemical properties, and a comparison of the spectral data with the literature. They were identified as (-)-sesamin (), helioxanthin (), savinin (), taiwanin C (), 6-methoxy-7-hydroxycoumarin (), behenic acid (), 3--caffeoyl-quinic acid (), 5--caffeoyl-quinic acid (), 1,3-di--caffeoyl-quinic acid (), 1,4-di--caffeoyl-quinic acid (), 1,5-di--caffeoyl-quinic acid (), (+)--(7,8)-guaiacylglycerol--coniferyl aldehyde ether (), (+)--(7,8)-guaiacylglycerol--coniferyl aldehyde ether (), ferulic acid (), caffeic acid (), stigmasterol (), -sitosterol (), adenosine (), syringin (), and -coniferin (). Among these isolates, compound showed inhibitory activity against lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE) production with IC values of 2.22 ± 0.11 and 2.28 ± 0.23 M, respectively. The effects of compound were associated with the suppression of LPS-induced expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein. Furthermore, compound negatively regulated the production of interleukin- (IL-) 1 and tumor-necrosis factor- (TNF-) at the transcriptional level in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells. These antineuroinflammatory effects of compound were mediated by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK).