Abstract
Six new bibenzyls (three pairs of enantiomers), bletstrins D-F (1-3), were isolated from the ethyl acetate-soluble (EtOAc) extract of tubers of Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Rchb f. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were determined by 1D/2D NMR spectroscopy, optical rotation value, and experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data analyses, respectively. Compounds 1-3 possess a hydroxyl-substituted chiral center on the aliphatic bibenzyl bridge, which represented the first examples of natural bibenzyl enantiomers from the genus of Bletilla. The antibacterial, antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF-α), and neuroprotective effects of the isolates have been evaluated. Compounds 3a and 3b were effective against three Gram-positive bacteria with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 52-105 μg/ml. Compounds 2a and 2b exhibited significant inhibitory effects on TNF-α-mediated cytotoxicity in L929 cells with IC(50) values of 25.7 ± 2.3 μM and 21.7 ± 1.7 μM, respectively. Subsequently, the possible anti-TNF-α mechanism of 2 was investigated by molecular docking simulation. Furthermore, the neuroprotective activities were tested on the H(2)O(2)-induced PC12 cell injury model, and compounds 2b, 3a, and 3b (10 μM) could obviously protect the cells with the cell viabilities of 57.86 ± 2.08%, 64.82 ± 2.84%, and 64.11 ± 2.52%, respectively.