Sesquiterpenoids from Ferula fukanensis and their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production

Six sesquiterpene derivatives, 2,3-dihydro-7-methoxy-2S*, 3R*-dimethyl-2-[4,8-dimethyl-3(E),7-nonadienyl]furo[3,2-c]coumarin (1) and 2,3-dihydro-7-methoxy-2R*,3R*-dimethyl-2-[4,8-dimethyl-3(E),7-nonadienyl]furo[3,2-c]coumarin (2), nerolidol (3), 1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,7,11-trimethyl-3-ninyl-6(E),10-dodecadien-1-one (4), 1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,7-dimethyl-3-vinyl-8-(4-methyl-2-furyl)-6(E)-octen-1-one (5) and dshamirone (6) were isolated from an 80% aqueous methanol extract of the roots of Ferula fukanensis. The sesquiterpenoids inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible NO synthase gene expression by a murine macrophage-like cell line (RAW 264.7) [1], which was activated by lipopolysaccharide and recombinant mouse interferon-.