Anti-inflammatory and immuno suppressive compounds from Tripterygium wilfordii

The extract of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. (TwHF), which showed anti-infiammatory and immunosuppressive activities in human clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis, was subjected to the activity-guided fractionation and spectroscopic characterization of bioactives. A tetrahydrofuran lignan, tripterygiol (1), and eight known compounds, all capable of suppressing pro-inflammatory gene expression were identified. Most of the pharmacological activity of the extract can be attributed to triptolide, its most abundant and active component, with some contribution from tripdiolide. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.