Diterpenoids and Diacetylenes from the Roots of Aralia cordata with Inhibitory Effects on Nitric Oxide Production

Bioactivity-guided isolation of a MeOH extract of Aralia cordata led to the isolation of four new ent-pimarane diterpenoids (1–4) and a diacetylene (5) together with 21 known compounds (6–26). Their structures were established based on the interpretation of one- and two-dimensional NMR and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of the new isolates were determined by electronic circular dichroism data analysis, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and Mosher’s esterification method. All compounds exhibited inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 macrophages with IC50 values ranging from 1.1 to 69.4 μM.