Inhibition of Low Density Lipoprotein-oxidation, ACAT-1, and ACAT-2 by Lignans from the Bark of Machilus thunbergii

The bark of Machilus thunbergii was extracted with 80% aqueous methanol (MeOH), and the concentrated extract was partitioned using ethyl acetate (EtOAc), butanol (n-BuOH), and $H_2O$, successively. From the EtOAc fraction, five lignans were isolated through the repeated silica gel, octadecyl silica gel (ODS) and, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectroscopy (MS), and infrared spectroscopy (IR) spectroscopic data, the chemical structures of the compounds were determined to be machilin A (1), machilin F (2), licarin A (3), nectandrin A (4), and nectandrin B, (5). This study presents comparative account of five lignans from M. thunbergii bark contributing inhibition of low density lipoprotein (LDL), ACAT-1, and ACAT-2. Compounds 2-5 showed varied degree of antioxidant activity on LDL with $IC_{50}$ values of 2.1, 11.8, 15.3, and $4.1{\mu}M$. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 showed inhibition activity on ACAT-1 with values $63.4{\pm}6.9%$ ($IC_{50}=66.8{\mu}M$), $53.7{\pm}0.9%$ ($IC_{50}=109.2{\mu}M$), and $78.7{\pm}0.2%$ ($IC_{50}=40.6{\mu}M$), respectively, at a concentration of 50 mg/mL, and on ACAT-2 with values $47.3{\pm}1.5%$ ($IC_{50}=149.7{\mu}M$), $39.2{\pm}0.2%$ ($IC_{50}=165.2{\mu}M$), and $52.1{\pm}1.0%$ ($IC_{50}=131.0{\mu}M$, respectively, at a concentration of 50 mg/mL.