Through bioassay-guided fractionation, thirteen compounds (1-13) were isolated from the dry root of Semiaquilegia adoxoides, known as Tiankuizi in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Among these, four benzoic acid derivatives (1, 2, 4, 5), one 4,6-dimethoxy-5-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one (10) and one 1,2,3-propanetriol (13) were found for the first time in S. adoxoides. This is the first record of compound 10 from a natural source. 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid (1) and 3,4-dihyroxybenzoic acid (2) showed selective inhibition against elastase release and superoxide anion generation, with IC50 values of 3.20 and 6.21 μg/mL, respectively. Compound 1 had 7-fold better activity than the positive control against elastase release induced by human neutrophils. Overall, our studies demonstrated Tiankuizi (S. adoxoides) as a potential TCM and isolates 1 and 2 as promising lead compounds for neutrophilic inflammatory diseases.
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