Objective To study the chemical constituents of Salvia miltiorrhiza and their anti-asthma activity. Methods The compounds were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography, gel column chromatography and preparative liquid chromatography. Their structures were identified based on spectroscopic data and physicochemical properties. The anti-asthma activity of the obtained compounds was evaluated using β-hexosaminidase release assay and RBL-2H3 cell degranulation model. Results Seven compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of S. miltiorrhiza and identified as (S)-3-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methoxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl (2S,3S)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4-((E)-3-(((S)-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-ethoxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl)oxy)-3-oxoprop-1-en-1-yl)-7-hydroxy-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3-carboxylate (1), rosmarinic acid (2), methyl linoleate (3), 4-oxononanoic acid (4), (Z)-9-octadecenoic acid (5), (9Z,12Z)-nonadeca-9,12-dienoic acid (6), and n-13,16-nonadecadienoic acid (7). The bioactivity results showed that compound 1 inhibited the release of β-hexosaminidase, reduced the levels of mouse mast cell protease-1 (mMCP-1), β-mast cell tryptase (β-MCT), histamine (HIS) and leukotriene C4 (LTC4), and significantly ameliorated the degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells. Conclusion Compound 1 is a new water-soluble phenolic acid, named 9′ʺ-ethyl salvianolate B, that may exert anti-asthma effect by inhibiting mast cell degranulation.

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge  /  9′ʺ  /  -ethyl salvianolate B  /  rosmarinic acid  /  methyl linoleate  /  water-soluble phenolic acid  /  anti-asthma