Abstract
Chromatographic investigation of the methylene chloride/methanol extract of aerial parts of Achillea coarctata afforded two new guaiane acid derivatives, 1 alpha,6 alpha,8 alpha-trihydroxy-5 alpha,7 beta H-guaia-3,10(14),11(13)-trien-12-oic acid (1) and 1 alpha,6 alpha,8 alpha-trihydroxy-5 alpha,7 beta H-guaia-3,9,11(13)-trien-12-oic acid (2), in addition to three known compounds, ligustolide-A (3), arteludovicinolide-A (4) and austricin (5). Structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses including: H-1 and C-13 NMR, COSY, HMQC, HMBC and NOESY NMR spectroscopy, as well as MS analysis. Proliferation of beneficial macrophages was significantly enhanced by treatment with 1 and 2. Additionally, treatment with compounds 2 and 4 led to a potentially significant inhibition in nitric oxide generation from raw murine macrophage 264.7, which was stimulated by bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Compounds 2 and 4 exhibited anti-inflammatory properties, based on a nitric oxide assay.