Isolation of Novel Sesquiterpeniods and Anti-neuroinflammatory Metabolites from .

contains various types of sesquiterpenoids that may play an important role in the potency of plant's anti-inflammatory effects, depending on their structure. In this study, five new sesquiterpenoids, namely kanshone L (), kanshone M (), 7-methoxydesoxo-narchinol (), kanshone N (), and nardosdaucanol (), were isolated along with four known terpenoids (kanshone D (), nardosinanone G (), narchinol A (), and nardoaristolone B ()) from the rhizomes and roots of . Their structures were determined by analyzing 1D and 2D NMR and MS data. Among the nine sesquiterpenoids, compounds , , and were shown to possess dose-dependent inhibitory effects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in BV2 microglial cells. Furthermore, compounds , , and exhibited anti-neuroinflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory mediators, including prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-12 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells. Moreover, these compounds were shown to inhibit the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells by suppressing the phosphorylation of IκB-α and blocking NF-κB translocation. In conclusion, five new and four known sesquiterpenoids were isolated from , and compounds , , and exhibited anti-neuroinflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells through inhibiting of NF-κB signaling pathway.