Biological Activities of Larix kaempferi Needles

The needles of L. kaempferi was extracted with 95% ethanol and successively partitioned with n-hexane, $CH_2Cl_2$ and EtOAc. Repeated column chromatography on the EtOAc and $H_2O$ soluble fractions gave three flavan-3-ols, one flavone glycoside, six flavonol glycosides and one lignan derivative. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidences. The antioxidant activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging method. Flavan compounds indicated good antioxidative potentials compared with BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and ${\alpha}$-tocopherol as controls. In the anti-inflammatory test on most of the isolated compounds, NO (nitric oxide) assay against the RAW 264.7 (Mouse Macrophage) showed similar inhibitory potentials to NO production of the control. The cytotoxicity was determined by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and most of the isolated compounds indicated no toxicity in various concentration.