Abstract:
Phytochemical investigation on the ethanol extract of a well-known medicinal herb
Leonurus japonicus, led to the separation of 18 labdane type diterpenoids (
1 −
18 ). Through comprehensive spectroscopic analyses and quantum chemical calculations, these compounds were structurally characterized as six new interesting 5,5,5-di-spirocyclic ones (
1 −
6 ), two new (
7 and
8 ) and six known (
13 −
18 ) interesting 6,5,5-di-spirocyclic ones, a new rare 14,15-dinor derivative (
9 ), and three new ones incorporating a
γ-lactone unit (
10 −
12 ). An
in vitro neuroprotective assay in RSC96 cells revealed that compounds
7 and
12 exhibited neuroprotective activity in a concentration-dependent way, comparable to the reference drug
N-acetylcysteine.