Aromatic compounds from an aqueous extract of “ban lan gen” and their antiviral activities

A pair of unusual new diphenyl glycerol ether enantiomers (−)-(S)-1 and (+)-(R)-1 and two new methyl benzamidobenzoates 2 and 3 were isolated from Chinese traditional herbal medicine “ban lan gen” (Isatis indigotica roots). The enantiomers were separated by HPLC on a chiral column. Compound 2 showed activities against replication of HSV-1 and Coxsackie virus B3 and against the LPS-induced NO production in mouse peritoneal macrophage. Compound 3 was active against HSV-1. These results, together with previous studies, demonstrate that the diverse chemical constituents with varied activities contribute to pharmacological efficacy that supports the traditional application of this herbal medicine.122