Evaluation of Anti-inflammatory and Immunosuppressive Properties of Cynanchum ascyrifolium Matsum. and its Active Secondary Metabolites

The ethanol extract of Cynanchum ascyrifolium Matsum. showed significant anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities with dose dependent manner using in vitro experiments. Then, the bioassay-guided ethanol extract lead to identification of four active compounds, namely ursolic acid (1), maslinic acid (2), cynanoside A (3) and syringaresinol (4). Among these compounds, cynanoside A (3), a C21 steroid, exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effect on the Con-A or LPS activated lymphocytes at the concentration of 1 m M (P<0.01 vs model group). The results provided experimental evidence for the traditional use of C. ascyrifolium Matsum. in treating various disease associated with inflammation.