Bioactivity-guided isolation of anti-inflammatory triterpenoids from the sclerotia of Poria cocos using LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 cells

Poria cocos Wolf (Polyporaceae) has been used as a medicinal fungus to treat various diseases since ancient times. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory chemical constituents of the sclerotia of P. cocos. Based on bioassay-guided fractionation using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated Raw264.7 cells, chemical investigation of the EtOH extract of the sclerotia of P. cocos resulted in the isolation and identification of eight compounds including six triterpenoids, namely poricoic acid A (1), 3-O-acetyl-16α-hydroxydehydrotrametenolic acid (2), polyporenic acid C (3), 3β-hydroxylanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-21-oic acid (4), trametenolic acid (5), and dehydroeburicoic acid (6), as well as (-)-pinoresinol (7) and protocatechualdehyde (8). The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis, including ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra, and LC/MS analysis. The anti-inflammatory activities of the isolates were evaluated by estimating their effect on the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) in LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 as well as on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Compounds 1-5 inhibited NO production and iNOS expression in LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 cells. Among them, compound 1 exerted the highest anti-inhibitory activity and reduced PGE₂ levels via downregulation of COX-2 protein expression. The findings of this study provide experimental evidence that the sclerotia of P. cocos are a potential source of natural anti-inflammatory agents for use in pharmaceuticals and functional foods. Furthermore, the most active compound 1, seco-lanostane triterpenoid, could be a promising lead compound for the development of novel anti-inflammatory agents.