The plants of genus Toona are well known for diverse limonoid secondary metabolites, while polyacetylenes are rarely found from Toona species. In this work, six new polyacetylenes toonasindiynes A-F (1-6) and six known analogues (7-12) were isolated from the root bark of Toona sinensis. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis, modified Mosher's method, and biosynthetic consideration. These polyacetylenes share the same 4,6-diyne moiety with different side chain length and different oxidation degree. Bioactivity screening revealed the cytotoxic activity of 3, 5, 9, and 11 against U2OS cells, and the inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production of 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, and 11 in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 cells.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory activity; Cytotoxicity; Modified Mosher's method; Polyacetylenes; Toona sinensis.
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