Biochemometry as a tool to unravel the anti-inflammatory activity of the Ayurvedic remedy red sandalwood

Pterocarpus santalinus L.f., is an endemic species native to the Southern parts of India. Its heartwood is used as an anti-inflammatory Ayurvedic remedy [1]. Indeed, a CH₂CL₂-MeOH heartwood extract (PS-E) significantly suppressed the expression of cell adhesion molecules (VCAM-1, E-selectin) and other pro-inflammatory molecules (CX3CL1, GM-CSF) in IL-1 stimulated endothelial cells. These data provide first insights into its molecular mode of action. The aim of this study was a fast identification and targeted isolation of constituents contributing to the observed effects. For this purpose, we applied the biochemometric approach ELINA [2] [3]. PS-E was separated into 35 microfractions with a quantitative variance of constituents over several consecutive fractions. This was achieved by a unique hyphenation of a flash chromatography instrument to a high-performance counter-current chromatographic device. ¹H NMR data and bioactivity data of all microfractions were then correlated by heterocovariance analyses [4] and statistical total correlation spectroscopy. Complemented by LC-MS-ELSD data, ELINA differentiated between active and inactive constituents prior to isolation. The follow-up of these results led to one stilbene, five isoflavanoides, two isoflavanes and three pterocarpans as potential inhibitors of inflammatory gene expression.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 December 2021

• References

• 1 Dahat Y.. et al. J Ethnopharmacol 2021, 276, 114127
• 2 Grienke U.. et al. Sci Rep 2019, 9, 11113
• 3 Zwirchmayr J.. et al. Biomolecules 2020, 10
• 4 Aligiannis N.. et al. ChemistrySelect 2016, 1, 2531–2535