著者

諸田,隆

出版者

日本生薬学会

雑誌

Natural medicines

巻号頁・発行日

vol.49, no.4, 1995-12-20

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Roots of Tripterygium wilfordii has been long used in China for treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lups erythematosus (SLE) and Bechet's disease, chronic nephritis, allergic conjunctivitis and rhinitis, and asthma. However, not many studies have been made on its clinical effects. We previously isolated nine diterpenoids and 17 triterpenoids from the heartwood and bark of the plant. In the present report, we examined the inhibitory activities of these constituents on leukotrien D_4-induced smooth muscle contraction which is considered to be involved in the pathology of asthma. Seven diterpenoids and ten triterpenoids were found to be quite active in this assay.