Terpenoids from Glechoma hederacea var. longituba and their biological activities

Glechoma hederacea var. longituba (common name: ground ivy) has been used for the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, cholelithiasis, colds, and inflammation. In the present study, three new sesquiterpene glycosides (1-3), two new diterpene glycosides (4 and 5), and four known compounds (6-9) were isolated from its MeOH extract. A structure elucidation was performed for the five new compounds (1-5) using 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS, DP4+ and ECD calculations, and chemical methods. All the isolates (1-9) were assessed for their antineuroinflammatory activities on nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated BV-2 cells, nerve growth factor (NGF) secretion stimulation activities in C6 glioma cells, and cytotoxic activities against four human cancer cell lines (A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT15). Compounds 2 and 5-7 exhibited inhibitory effects on the NO production with IC₅₀ values of 52.21, 47.90, 61.61, and 25.35 μM, respectively. Compound 5 also exhibited a significant stimulating effect on NGF secretion (122.77 ± 8.10%). Compound 9 showed potent cytotoxic activity against SK-OV-3 (IC₅₀ = 3.76 μM) and SK-MEL-2 (IC₅₀ = 1.48 μM) cell lines, while 7 displayed a strong cytotoxic activity against the SK-MEL-2 (IC₅₀ = 9.81 μM) cell line.