Nine new sesquiterpenes from Curcuma wenyujin rhizomes

Nine new sesquiterpenes wenyujinones A-I (1-9), along with ten known ones (10-19), were isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling (C. wenyujin). The chemical structures of compounds 1-9 were elucidated by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra analysis. Furthermore, all compounds were evaluated for the protective effects against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced injury in human hepatic L02 cells, for the inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 cells, and for their cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines A549, HL60, and MCF7 in vitro. As a result, compounds 2, 4, 14 markedly weakened the oxidative damage induced by H₂O₂ in L02 cells via strengthening the cell viability.