In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of lignans isolated from Magnolia fargesii

The overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) causes neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Four lignans, (+)-eudesmin (1), (+)-magnolin (2), (+)yangambin (3) and a new structure named as epimagnolin B (4) were isolated from Magnolia fargesii (Magnoliaceae) as the inhibitors of NO production in LPS-activated microglia. The most potent compound 4 inhibited the production of NO and PGE(2) and the expression of respective enzyme iNOS and COX-2 through the suppression of I-kappa B-alpha degradation and nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-kappa B. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.