Anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative prenylated chalcones from Hedysarum gmelinii

Five new prenylated chalcones hedysarumines C-G (1–5), along with eight known chalcones (6–13) all of which were isolated from the genus Hedysarum for the first time, were isolated from the roots of Hedysarum gmelinii by chromatographic methods. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic techniques. The isolated chalcones (2–13) and previously isolated prenylated chalcones (14–16) were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against five human cancer cell lines (HepG2, A549, Du145, BGC823, and HCT116) and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Compounds 5, 10, and 15 inhibited NO production induced by lipopolysaccharide in BV-2 cells, with IC ₅₀ values ranging from 3.25 to 8.48 μM. Compounds 4 and 11 showed moderate antiproliferative activity to selective human cancer cell lines, with the IC ₅₀ values of 4 and 11 against A549 cell line being 7.79 and 9.67 μM, respectively, and the IC ₅₀ value of 11 against HCT116 cell line being 8.85 μM.