Chemical constituents from the roots of Lindera aggregata and their biological activities.

Three new benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, (1'S)-12'-hydroxyl-linderegatine (1), (1S)-5'-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl norreticuline (2), (1R, 1'R)-11,11'-biscoclaurine (3), along with 18 known compounds were isolated from the roots of Lindera aggregata (Sims) Kosterm. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR). The absolute configurations of three new compounds were determined by comparing their experimental and calculated ECD for the first time. Compounds (4) and (9) showed cytotoxic activities against human colon carcinoma cell line (HCT-116), with IC50 values of 51.4 and 27.1 μM, respectively. Furthermore, compounds (10) and (11) showed inhibitory activities on nitric oxide production induced by lipopolysaccharide in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells, with IC50 values of 37.8 and 38.7 μM, respectively.