Anti-inflammatory Withanolides from Physalis minima

[Image: see text] Five new withanolides (1–5) along with five known ones (6–10) were isolated from the whole plants of Physalis minima Linn. The chemical structures of the new compounds were identified as (20S,22R) 15a-acetoxy-5β,6β-epoxy-4β,14a,28-trihydroxy-3β-methoxy-1-oxowitha-16,24-dienolide (1), (20S,22R) 15a-acetoxy-5β,6β-epoxy-3β,4β,14β,17β,20β-pentahydroxy-1-oxowitha-24-enolide (2), (20R,22R) 15α-acetoxy-4β,5α,6β,14α,20β-pentahydroxy-1-oxowitha-2,24-dienolide (3), (20R,22R) 15α-acetoxy-5α,6β,14α,20β-tetrahydroxy-1-oxowitha-2,24-dienolide (4), and (20S,22R) 5α,6β,14β-trihydroxy-1,15-dioxowitha-2,16,24-trienolide (5) on the basis of integration combining IR, UV, HR-ESI-MS, 1D-NMR, and 2D-NMR analyses. Biologically, compounds (1–10) were subjected to evaluate their anti-inflammatory activities via inhibiting nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated murine RAW 264.7 cells in vitro. The activity screening indicated that all of the compounds showed a moderate inhibitory effect against nitric oxide production with IC(50) values of 23.53–66.28 μM.