Structures of new flavonoids and benzofuran-type stilbene and degranulation inhibitors of rat basophilic leukemia cells from the Brazilian herbal medicine Cissus sicyoides.

Three new flavonoid glycosides (cissosides I, II, and III) and a new benzofuran-type stilbene (cissusin) were isolated from the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Cissus sicyoides cultivated in Brazil. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. The inhibitory effects of the isolated constituents on the release of beta-hexosaminidase as a marker of degranulation in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells were examined. Cissusin, flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin), flavones (7,3',4'-trihydroxyflavone, lanceolatin B), pterocarpanes (homopterocarpin), chalcones (isoliquiritigenin, E-7-O-methylpongamol), and tryptanthrin markedly inhibited the release of beta-hexosaminidase.