Anti-HIV-1 Activity of Lignans from the Fruits of Schisandra rubriflora

This study investigated the 70% aqueous acetone extract of the fruits of Schisandra rubriflora which led to the isolation of eight lignans, including a new isolate, rubrisandrin C (1), and seven known lignans (2-8). The structure of 1 was established by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and its absolute stereochemistry was determined by CD spectrum. Compounds 1-5 and 7-8 were evaluated for their anti-HIV-1 activity that showed inhibitory activity on HIV-1(IIIB) induced syncytium formation with EC50 values in the range of 2.26 similar to 20.4 mu g/mL. Compounds 1 and 7 exerted their obvious protection of HIV-1(IIIB) inducted MT-4 host cells lytic effects with a selectivity index of 15.4 and 24.6, respectively.

We thank our DNA donors, Dr. Xiao-Yong Man for collecting the samples, Dr. Qingjiong Zhang for discussion, and Ms Dandan Yu for technical assistance. We are grateful to Dr. Ian Logan for helpful comments and language editing and the two anonymous reviewers for critical comments on the early version of the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (grant number 30925021); Yunnan Province (sic); and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.