The previous research
results showed that the extracts
of ethyl
acetate of the rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong (Rhizoma chuanxiong) possessed significant
antigout effects in model mice. To explore the active ingredients
responsible for the effects, phytochemical studies were performed,
which led to the isolation of three rare 8′, 9-linked neolignans,
ligusticumins A–C (1–3), together
with two novel phthalide-phenylpropanoid heterodimers, ligusticumalides
A–B (4 and 5). It is noteworthy that 4 possesses an unprecedented 7-styryl phthalide skeleton.
The structures and absolute configurations of 1–5 were elucidated by one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional
(2D) NMR spectroscopy and electron-capture detector (ECD) spectroscopic
methods. The bioassay results showed that compounds 1, 2, 3, and 5 presented moderate
inhibitory activities against xanthine oxidase (XO) and 4 possessed a significant XO inhibitory effect with an IC50 value of 93.88 μM. This is the first time to investigate the anti-XO active ingredients of R. chuanxiong, which provides valuable information for searching for new antigout
agents from natural products.