SASANQUOL, A 3,4-SECO-TRITERPENE ALCOHOL FROM SASANQUA OIL, AND ITS ANTIINFLAMMATORY EFFECT

A novel 3,4-seco-triterpene alcohol, named sasanquol, was isolated fro m the non-saponifiable lipid of sasanqua oil from the seeds of Camelli a sasanqua. Its structure was established to be 3,4-seco-D:B-friedobac chara-4,21-dien-3-ol by spectroscopic methods. This is the first examp le of naturally occurring triterpene with a D:B-friedobaccharane skele ton. The 50% inhibitory dose of this compound against 12-O-tetradecano ylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced ear inflammation (1 mu g per ear) i n mice was 0.4 mg per ear. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.