The basic chemical substances of total alkaloids of Menispermi Rhizoma and their anti-inflammatory activities.

Menispermi Rhizoma is the dried rhizome of DC. (Menispermaceae), which commonly used to treat sore throat, enteritis, and dysentery in traditional Chinese medicine. To clarify the chemical basis of the total alkaloids of M. Rhizoma, HPLC was used to analyze total alkaloids, and then representative chemical constituents were separated by tracking. Nineteen compounds, including two new alkaloids (1-methymenidaurine A---oxide () and 1-7'-hydroxymethyl-menidaurine A ()), thirteen known alkaloids, and four known flavonoids were isolated and identified using spectroscopic methods. Meanwhile, seven characteristic peaks were identified from the total alkaloids using HPLC analysis. Furthermore, compounds - were screened for their inhibitory effect against nitric oxide production in BV-2 microglia cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide. Among them, six compounds showed weak inhibition, and the IC values of compounds and were 56.87 ± 1.61 and 53.67 ± 1.52 mM, respectively.