Anti-neuroinflammatory compounds from Athyrium yokoscense

Ferns have been traditionally used for food and medicine in east Asia. Various biological effects of ferns have been reported, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibition, anticancer and antioxidative activity[1 – 3]. In our search for anti-neuroinflammatory ferns, methanol extract of Athyrium yokoscense showed anti-neuroinflammatory activity on BV2 cells. We isolated five compounds, aspidinol B (1), aspidinol P (2), bismethylene(aspidinol) (3), angophorol (4) and dehydroabietic acid (5) from the methanol extract of A. yokoscense through bioactivity-guided isolation. All of these compounds were isolated from A. yokoscense for the first time. The anti-inflammatory activities of each compound were evaluated by inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production on BV2 murine microglial cells. Compound 1 and 2 significantly inhibited NO production at a concentration-dependent manner, with IC₅₀ values of 30 and 50 µM, respectively. In western blot assay for COX-2 and iNOS, Compound 1 and 2 suppressed LPS-stimulated COX-2 expression and Compound 1 also downregulated iNOS expression in BV2 cells.

References:

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