Agents protecting against sepsis from the roots of Angelica dahurica.

In the course of isolating agents preventing sepsis from the EtOAc extract of the roots of Angelica dahurica, four known furanocoumarins, isoimperatorin (1), oxypeucedanin (2), (+/-)-byakangelicin (3), and (+)-oxypeucedanin hydrate (4), were isolated as active compounds based on the in vivo assay model of sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and D-galactosamine (D-GalN). Among them, 3 showed the highest survival rate (100% with a dose of 30 mg/kg versus 20% for the control experiment) and decreased the plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and alanine aminotransferase in mice adminstered LPS/D-GalN.