Anti-inflammatory activity of a new lactone isolated from the leaves of Ardisia crenata Sims

One new lactone (1) named Ardisicreolide C, together with three saponin compounds, Ardisiacrispin B (2), Ardisicrenoside A (3), Ardisiacrispin A (4) were isolated and identified from the leaves of Ardisia crenata Sims. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated by 1D, 2D-NMR and HR-MS spectra and together with the published data. In view of structures with lactone moieties showed good anti-inflammatory activity, the anti-inflammatory effects of Ardisicreolide C on LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. As a result, Ardisicreolide C could reduce release of nitric oxide (NO), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) of the cell supernatant to exert anti-inflammatory activity. This indicates that the leaves as non-medicinal parts of Ardisia crenata Sims contain compounds with good anti-inflammatory activity, which provides a new direction for the discovery of anti-inflammatory drugs.