Constituents of the stem barks of Ailanthus altissima and their potential to inhibit LPS-induced nitric oxide production.

Three new canthinone type alkaloids, canthin-6-one-1-O-β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), canthin-6-one-1-O-[6-O-(3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (2) and canthin-6-one-1-O-[2-β-D-apiofuranosyl-6-O-(3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (3) were isolated from the stem barks of Ailanthus altissima together with four quassinoids (4-7), seven phenylpropanoids (8-14) and a lignan of previously known structure (15). The inflammatory activities of the 15 isolates were screened on LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO), a proinflammatory mediator, in RAW 264.7 cells.