Chemical constituents from Cornus officinalis and their biological activity 1

Objective: To study the chemical constituents from Cornus officinalis Sieb., Et Zucc, and their peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) agonist activity. Materials and Methods: The leaves of C. officinalis were extracted three times with 90% EtOH at room temperature. The ethanol extracts were combined and concentrated under reduced pressure to yield residue, which was isolated and purified by silica gel and reverse-phase C 18 column chromatography. The structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidence and their physiochemical characteristics. Cell-based luciferase reporter gene assays were used to evaluate PPARα/γ agonistic activities. Results: Five compounds were isolated and elucidated as 10-hydroxyhastatoside (1), β-dihydrocornin (2), isoquercitrin (3), loganin (4) and oleanolic acid (5). Conclusion: Compounds 1 and 2 were obtained from C. officinalis for the first time. Compound 3 exhibited moderate agonistic activities for PPARα, with EC 50 values of 29.5 μM.