Bioactive Sesquiterpene Lactones Isolated from the Whole Plants of

Twelve sesquiterpene lactones were isolated from the whole plants of . These included eight new compounds, vercinolides A-H (-), along with four known substances (-). The structures of the new compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR experiments and mass spectrometric methods. The absolute configurations of compounds - were determined by Mosher experiments and ECD data. Compounds - are the first examples of a new class of sesquiterpene lactones possessing a rare 4α,10α-ether ring and a 2,14-ether ring. Compounds -, , , , and were evaluated for their cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. Compounds and exhibited inhibitory effects against nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells with IC values of 21 and 23 μM, respectively. Both compounds were inactive for HeLa cells (IC > 10 μM).