Two Undescribed Coumarins from Notopterygium Incisum with Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Pharmacology
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• Notopterygium incisum is a traditional medicinal plant.
• Coumarins are a class of compounds with diverse biological activities.
• Inflammation is a key process in many diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize new coumarins from Notopterygium incisum.
• To evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of the isolated compounds.
• To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory activity.

Main Methods:

• Isolation and purification of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation using High-Resolution Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (HRESIMS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Infrared Circular Dichroism (ICD).
• Assessment of anti-inflammatory activity in vitro, including inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO) release, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation.
• Western blotting to analyze protein expression, including phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (p-PI3K) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT).

Main Results:

• Two new coumarins, designated 1 and 2, were successfully isolated and structurally characterized.
• Compounds 1-2 demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting COX-2 and iNOS expression.
• The compounds effectively reduced nitric oxide (NO) release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in cellular assays.
• Compound 2 was found to inhibit the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by reducing p-PI3K and p-AKT levels.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified two novel coumarins from Notopterygium incisum.
• The isolated coumarins possess notable anti-inflammatory properties.
• Compound 2 exerts its anti-inflammatory effects, at least partly, through the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic agent for inflammatory conditions.