Chemical Constituents of the Leaves of Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) and Their Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Two new aryltetralin lactone lignans, petasitesins A and B were isolated from the hot water extract of the leaves of butterbur (Petasites japonicus) along with six known compounds. The chemical structures of lignans 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra. Petasitesin A and cimicifugic acid D showed significant inhibitory effects on the production of both prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and NO in RAW264.7 macrophages. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were inhibited by compound 1 in RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, compounds 1 and 3 exhibited strong affinities with both iNOS and COX-2 enzymes in molecular docking studies.