Anti-inflammatory active polyacetylenes from Bidens campylotheca.

The n-hexane extract of Bidens campylotheca Schultz Bip. ssp campylotheca (Compositae) showed significant in vitro inhibition of cyclooxygenase (CO) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO). Five polyacetylenes, heptadeca-2E,8E,10E,16-tetraene-4,6-diyne (1), heptadeca-2E,8Z,10E,16-tetraene-4,6-diyne (2), heptadeca-2E,8E,16-triene-4,6-diyne-10-ol (3), safynol (5) and, as a new compound, safynol-2-O-isobutyrate (4) could be isolated and their structures elucidated mainly by UV, MS, NMR, and COSY-NMR. The isolated compounds exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase.