Coumarinolignoids and Taraxerane Triterpenoids from Sapium discolor and Their Inhibitory Potential on Microglial Nitric Oxide Production

Seventeen compounds, including three new pairs of coumarinolignoid enantiomers, (7'S,8'S)-sapiumins A-C (1a-3a) and (7'R,8'R)-sapiumins A-C (1b-3b), six new taraxerane triterpenoids, sapiumic acids A-F (4-9), and five known taraxerane triterpenoids (10-14), were isolated from an ethanol extract prepared from the stems and leaves of Sapium discolor. The structures of 1-9 and their relative configurations were determined by spectroscopic data analysis, and the absolute configurations of the coumarinolignoids 1a/1b-3a/3b and triterpenoids 6-9 were assigned using experimental and calculated ECD data. Compounds 1a/1b-3a/3b are the first coumarinolignoids to be reported from the genus Sapium. Among all the isolates, compounds 1b, 2a/2b, 3a/3b, and 6-9 inhibited nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV-2 microglial cells, with ICso values of 1.7-15.3 mu M.