Chemical components of Salvia cavaleriei and their anti-inflammatory effect via NF-κB signaling pathway

In this study, with the aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory ingredients of Salvia cavaleriei, a phytochemical study with bioactive guided isolation for this plant have been taken. As a result, two pairs of new phenylacetic acid enantiomers, (±) cavalvia A (±1) and B (±2), and one previously undescribed germacrane-type sesquiterpenoid, salviesquiten A (3), along with ten known ones (4-13) were isolated from the ethyl acetate portion of 95 % ethanol extract. Their chemical structures were established based on UV, IR, MS and NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as PD4⁺ probability analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) methods. Anti-inflammatory bioassay showed that compound 6 exhibited significant effect against LPS-induced NO production in the RAW264.7 macrophages model, with the IC₅₀ value of 3.40 ± 0.24 μM. Furthermore, compound 6 significantly suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) and the protein expression of the enzymes iNOS and COX-2 in a concentration-dependent manner. And further investigation showed that 6 exerts anti-inflammatory effect via NF-κB signaling pathway.