Chemical constituents from Sambucus williamsii Hance fruits and hepatoprotective effects in mouse hepatocytes

Chemical investigation of Chinese folk medicine Sambucus williamsii Hance has resulted in the isolation and characterisation of seventeen compounds from the n-BuOH extract of its fruits, including two new phenylethanoid glycosides and fifteen known compounds. Structures of new compounds were elucidated primarily on the basis of their extensive spectroscopic data including 2D NMR. In addition, the n-BuOH extract from the fruits of S. williamsii was found to show a protective effect on D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced cytotoxicity in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes. So the hepatoprotective effects of principal constituents from it were tested by MTT assays. The results showed that Compounds 13, 16 and 17 displayed hepatoprotective effects.