A new kavalactone, 4'-hydroxyl dihydro-5, 6-dehydrokavain (1) was isolated from the petroleum ether partition of leaves of Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) Burtt. et Smith, together with four known kavalactone dimers, rel-1,trans-3-bis-(4-methoxy-2-oxopyran-6-yl)-cis-2,trans-4-diphenyl cyclobutene (2), aniba dimer A (3), aniba dimer C (4), 6,6'-(3,4-diphenylcyclobutane-1,2-diyl)bis(4-methoxy-2H-pyran-2-one (5). The structure of compound 1 was characterized by its MS, 1D-NMR, and 2D-NMR data, and the structures of the known compounds were determined by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported by the literatures. The obtained compounds were evaluated for their protective activities on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) damaged by high glucose (35 mM, cell viability at 70.10%). Compounds 3 and 5 could increase the cell viability at the concentration of 12.5 μΜ (83.12%) and 25 μΜ (75.02%), whereas at the concentration of 12.5 μΜ, compounds 1, 2, and 4 didn't reverse cell damage (cell viability at 38.58%, 54.80% and 58.16%).
Keywords: Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) Burtt. et Smith; HUVECs damage; Zingiberaceae; high glucose; kavalactone.