Neuroprotective Fatty Acids from the Stem Bark of Sorbus commixta.

Phytochemical investigation of the bark from the stems of Sorbus commixta led to the isolation and characterization of a new fatty acid, sorcomic acid (1), along with nine known analogues (2-10). The structure of the new compound (1) was determined through NMR ((1)H and (13)C NMR, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY), MS, and specific optical rotation. The known compounds (2-10) were identified by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those in the literature. The biological activities of all the isolated compounds (1-10) were evaluated: compounds 1, 5, and 7 potently induced NGF secretion from C6 glioma cells (233.40 ± 12.82, 194.40 ± 8.05, and 185.74 ± 10.25 %, respectively) and compound 10 reduced NO levels with an IC50 value of 71.25 μM in murine microglia BV2 cells stimulated by LPS.