Chemical Constituents of Euphorbia Polyacantha Boiss. and their Immunomodulatory Properties

Phytochemical investigation on the stem of Euphorbia polyacantha Boiss. (Euphorbiaceae) afforded a new anthraquinone named as 1, 8-dihydroxy -3- (hydroxyl methyl) -5- methoxy anthracene- 9,10- dione (1) along with three known compounds, aloe emodin (2) , 3, 4, 3 ¢ –tri-O-methyl ellagic acid (3), and 3,3 ¢ ,4, 4 ¢ - tetra-O-methyl ellagic acid (4). Their structures were determined on the basis of IR, 1D- and 2D- NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analysis. The effect of isolated compounds on oxidative burst of neutrophils and T-cell proliferation response was studied. Compounds 3 and 1 displayed strong oxidative burst inhibitory activity with IC 50 2 ± 0 and 3.5 ± 1.1 µg/mL respectively, whereas they moderately inhibited the T-cell proliferation with IC 50 28.5 ± 1.8 and 22.5 ± 2.0 µg/mL respectively. Compound 2 was relatively inactive with IC 50 43.2 μg/mL in oxidative burst and >50 μg/mL in case of T-cell proliferation. This is the first report on the phytochemical profile and biological activity of E. polyacantha.