Objective To investigate the chemical constituents of the n-butanol fraction of Patrinia villosa. Methods The compounds were isolated and purified by various chromatographic techniques including silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 gel, and semi-preparative HPLC, and their structures were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data. The anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated by against NO production from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Results A total of 14 compounds were isolated from the n-butanol fraction of P. villosa ethanol extract and identified as (2E,5R,6R)-5,8-dihydroxy-2,6-dimethyl-2-octenoic acid (1), (2E,5R,6R)-8-acetoxy-5-hydroxy-2,6-dimethyl-2-octenoic acid (2), (2E,6R)-8-hydroxy-2,6-dimethyl-2-octenoic acid (3), (6R,7E,9R)-9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one (4), ethyl chlorogenate (5), ethyl caffeate (6), dihydrosyringenin (7), 7S,8S-threo-4,7,9,9'-tetrahydroxy-3,3'-dimethoxy-8-O-4'-neolignan (8), (+)-isolariciresinol (9), (7S,8R)-dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (10), ceplignan (11), (+)-syringaresinol (12), salicifoliol (13), and 5-hydroxy-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2(5H)-furanone hydroxy-butenolide (14). Compounds 1 and 2 are new compounds, and their NO inhibition rates at a concentration of 50 μmol/L were (6.16 ±1.41)% and (11.11 ±2.10)%, respectively. Conclusion Compounds 1 and 2 are new acyclic monoterpenoids, and namely patrivic acid B and 8-acetylpatrivic acid B. Compounds 3, 4, 10, 11 and 14 were isolated from P. villosa for the first time. Compounds 1 and 2 showed no significant anti-inflammatory activity.

Patrinia villosa(Thunb.) Juss.  /  acyclic monoterpenoid  /  lignin  /  anti-inflammatory activity  /  patrivic acid B  /  8-acetylpatrivic acid B  /  ceplignan