title: Effects of Chamaecyparis formosensis Matasumura extractives on lipopolysaccharide-induced release of nitric oxide.
abstract: Chamaecyparis formaosensis, commonly known as Taiwan red cypress, is native to Taiwan and grows at elevations of 1500-2150 m in Taiwan's central mountains. Many compounds have been identified from different pasts of C. formosensis, but up until now, little research has been done on the link between the constituents of C. formosensis and its bioactivities. In this study, we found that an ethyl acetate fraction (EA) of methonal extract of C. formosecsis, strongly inhibited LPS-mediated nitric oxide (NO) production in Raw 264.7 cells. The EA was further divided into 25 subfractions (EA1-EA25) by column chromatography. EA12 possessed the strongest NO production inhibition activity (IC(50) was 4.1 microg/mL). At a dosage of 20 microg/mL, EA12 completely inhibited NO production and the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in LPS-stimulated macrophage RAW264.7 cells. Bioactivity-guided chromatographic fractionation and metabolite profiling coupled with spectroscopic analyses, including (1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR analyses, identified six compounds: vanillin (1), 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2), trans-hinokiresinol (3), taiwanin E (4), 4alpha-hydroxyeudesm- 11-en-12-al (5), savinin (6). All of these six compounds were the first identified and reported from this tree species. Compounds (1), (3) and (5) demonstrated significant NO inhibition effect through reduction of NO production in activated RAW 264.7 cells due to the suppression of iNOS gene expression: compounds that can selectively inhibit undesirable expression of iNOS are important as they may serve as potential cancer chemopreventatives. This study suggests that C. formosensis may have potential for use as a natural resource for human health care.
authors.affiliation: Institute of BioAgricultural Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Pei-Min
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Shih-Chang
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Lie-Fen
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Shyur
authors.forename: Sheng-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D029780:Chamaecyparis; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II