Anti-inflammatory activity of the sclerotia of edible fungus, <i>Poria cocos</i> Wolf and their active lanostane triterpenoids

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P> <I>Poria cocos</I> Wolf confers large, edible sclerotia, known as ‘Indian bread’ in North America. Chemical investigation of EtOH extract of the sclerotia of <I>P. cocos</I> resulted in the identification of four new lanostane triterpenoids (<B>1–4</B>), coriacoic acids A-D, and 10 known compounds (<B>5–14</B>). The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR spectra, and HRMS. Among the known isolates, compounds <B>8</B> and <B>13</B> were isolated for the first time from <I>P. cocos</I>. All compounds <B>1–14</B> were tested for their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. Compounds <B>1</B>, <B>2</B>, <B>6</B>, <B>12</B>, and <B>14</B> inhibited NO production with IC<SUB>50</SUB> values ranging from 49.43 to 82.32μM. Among them, compound <B>14</B> was the most active compound, and its anti-inflammatory effect was found to be mediated through the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 expression via downregulation of NF-kappaB.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Fourteen lanostane triterpenoids were identified from the sclerotia of edible fungus <I>Poria cocos</I>. </LI> <LI> Four new lanostane triterpenoids (<B>1</B>–<B>4</B>) were structurally elucidated. </LI> <LI> Compounds <B>8</B> and <B>13</B> were isolated for the first time from <I>P. cocos</I>. </LI> <LI> Compounds <B>1</B>, <B>2</B>, <B>6</B>, <B>12</B>, and <B>14</B> inhibited NO production in LPS-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. </LI> <LI> The mechanism of action for the most active compound <B>14</B> was examined. </LI> </UL> </P>