Neurotrophic neolignans of Pinus koraiensis twigs

Four undescribed neolignan analogs, together with eight known compounds, were isolated from the twigs of Pinus koraiensis (Korean pine). The chemical structure of the isolated compounds was determined through extensive spectroscopic analysis and chemical method. Their relative and absolute configurations were assigned through a well-established empirical rule and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analysis, respectively. Four compounds (3 and 9-11) at 20 mu M concentration showed significant neurotrophic effect by inducing nerve growth factor (NGF) secretion in C6 cells with the stimulation levels a range of 140.82 +/- 4.62% to 160.04 +/- 11.04%. Additionally, the result indicated that the glycosylation of neolignan led to an improvement in neurotrophic activity compared to their aglycone form. A compound (7) inhibited nitric oxide production with an IC50 value of 31.74 mu M in LPS-activated BV2 cells.

Automated summary

In this study, several compounds were isolated from the twigs of Pinus koraiensis, with four of them showing significant neurotrophic effects by inducing the secretion of nerve growth factor. It was also found that glycosylation improved the neurotrophic activity of neolignan analogs compared to their aglycone form. One compound inhibited nitric oxide production in activated cells.