5-Lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitory active compounds from Atractylodes lancea.

Lipophilic extracts of Atractylodes lancea rhizomes exhibited potent inhibitory activities in 5-lipoxygenase [IC50 (5-LOX) = 2.9 micrograms/mL (n-hexane extract)] and cyclooxygenase-1 [IC50 (COX-1) = 30.5 micrograms/mL (n-hexane extract)] enzymatic assays. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the n-hexane extract led to the isolation of a new compound atractylochromene (1), a potent inhibitor in both test systems [IC50 (5-LOX) = 0.6 microM, IC50 (COX-1) = 3.3 microM]. Also obtained was 2-[(2E)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienyl]-6-methyl-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1 ,4-dione (2), which showed a selective inhibitory activity against 5-LOX [IC50 (5-LOX) 0.2 microM, IC50 (COX-1) 64.3 microM]. The sesquiterpene atractylon (3) and the coumarin osthol (4) turned out to be moderate but selective 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors. Atractylenolides I (5), II (6), and III (7) showed no significant inhibitory effects for either enzyme. Structures were established by spectral data interpretation.