Biologically active constituents from the fruiting body of Taiwanofungus camphoratus

Five new benzenoids, benzocamphorins A-E (1-5), and 10 recently isolated triterpenoids, camphoratins A-J (16-25), together with 23 known compounds including seven benzenoids (6-12), three lignans (13-15), and 13 triterpenoids (26-38) were isolated from the fruiting body of Taiwanofungus camphoratus. Their structures were established by spectroscopic analysis. Selected compounds were examined for cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. Compounds 9 and 21 showed moderate cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and Hep2 cell lines with ED50 values of 3.4 and 3.0 μg/mL, respectively. Compounds 21, 25, 26, 29-31, 33, and 36 demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production with IC50 values of 2.5, 1.6, 3.6, 0.6, 4.1, 4.2, 2.5, and 1.5 μM, respectively, which were better than those of the nonspecific nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) (IC50: 25.8 μM). These results may substantiate the use of T. camphoratus in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of inflammation and cancer-related diseases. The newly discovered compounds deserve further development as anti-inflammatory candidates.