Nine new sesquiterpenes, hyperhubeins A–I (1–9), and 14 known analogues (10–23) were isolated from the aerial portions of Hypericum
hubeiense. Their structures and absolute configurations were
determined unambiguously via spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal
X-ray diffraction, and electronic circular dichroism calculations.
Compounds 1–3 possess an unprecedented
sesquiterpene carbon skeleton. Further, a plausible biosynthetic pathway
from farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) is proposed. The isolated phytochemicals
were evaluated for neuroprotective and anti-neuroinflammatory properties
in vitro. Compounds 1, 2, 5–8, 14, and 21 displayed
notable neuroprotective activity against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced lesions in PC-12 cells at 10 μM.
Additionally, compounds 1, 2, 12, and 13 exhibited inhibition of lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in BV-2 microglial cells,
with their IC50 values ranging from 4.92 to 6.81 μM.
Possible interactions between these bioactive compounds and inducible
nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were predicted via molecular docking.
Moreover, Western blotting indicated that compound 12 exerted anti-neuroinflammatory activity by suppressing LPS-stimulated
expression of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and inhibiting consequent
activation of nuclear factor-kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling.