Four sesquiterpenoids from the vegetable raw material Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill.: leaves and stems

Four sesquiterpenoids A-D (1-4) were isolated from the ethanol extracts of the leaves and stems from Schisandra chinensis. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by a combination of NMR, MS and ECD. Compounds 1-4 (10 mu M) exhibited moderate hepatoprotective activities against APAP-induced LO2 cell damage with increasing cell viability by 18%, 17%, 16%, and 19% compared to the model group (bicyclol, 26%) at 10 mu M, respectively. All the compounds displayed no cytotoxic activity against five human cell lines, which also suggested the safety of leaves and stems of S. chinensis as an edible vegetable in a degree.