Three new sesquiterpenes: 4-acrylic-6-methyl-α-tetralone (1), ainsliaea acid A (2) and ainsliaea acid B (3), together with 8 known compounds (4-11) were isolated from the whole herb of Ainsliaea glabra and their structures were established by means of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and HR-ESIMS. Compounds 1-6 were tested for the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in the 293-NF-κB-luciferase reporter cell line induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and compound 2 was further tested for the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and IL-10 in RAW264.7 macrophages induced by LPS. The isolated compound 2 exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity.
Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity; sesquiterpene.