Sesquiterpenoids and Their Anti-Inflammatory Activity: Evaluation of Ainsliaea yunnanensis

Four new sesquiterpenoids (1–4) and six known sesquiterpenoids (5–10), were isolated from the EtOAc phase of the ethanolic extract of Ainsliaea yunnanensis. Their structures were established by spectroscopic methods, including 1-D, 2-D NMR and HPLC-MS. All compounds were tested for their anti-inflammatory effect by the inhibition of the activity of NLRP3 inflammasome by blocking the self-slicing of pro-caspase-1, which is induced by nigericin, then the secretion of mature IL-1β, mediated by caspase-1, was suppressed. Unfortunately none of the compounds showed an anti-inflammatory effect.