Bis-sesquiterpenes and diterpenes from Chloranthus henryi

Bis-sesquiterpenes, henriols A (1), B (2), C (3), and D (4), and three diterpenes, henrilabdanes A (5), B (6), and C (7), together with two known bis-sesquiterpenes and three known labdane diterpenes, were isolated from the ethanol extract of the roots of Chloranthus henryi. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by NMR spectroscopic, X-ray crystallographic and CD analyses. Compounds 1, 5, 6 and 7 showed moderate hepatoprotective activities with IC50 values of 0.19, 0.66, 0.09 and 0.18 mu m, respectively. They were not studied further due to the weak effects noted. Compounds 3 and 8 exhibited cytotoxic activities against three types of cancer cell lines including the hepatoma (BEL7402), human gastric carcinoma (BGC-823), and colon cancer (HCT-8). (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.