Anti-inflammatory activity of phenylpropanoids and phytoquinoids from Illicium species in RBL-2H3 cells.

Two phenylpropanoids, 1-allyl-3,5-dimethoxy-4-(3-methyl-but-2-enyloxy)benzene ( 4) and 4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxy-3-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)phenol ( 6), and two phytoquinoids, 4 R-(-)-illicinone-A ( 7) and 2 S,4 R-(-)-illicinone-B ( 8), isolated from plants of the ILLICIUM species significantly inhibited histamine release from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells stimulated with A23187. Furthermore, these compounds caused a decline in TNF-alpha levels in culture supernatants of RBL-2H3 cells following treatment with A23187. The results indicate that these compounds might be useful as anti-inflammatory agents against mast cell-mediated inflammatory diseases.