Biologically active constituents from the fruiting body of Taiwanofungus camphoratus

Five new benzenoids, benzocamphorins A-E (1-5), and 10 recently isolated triterpenoids, camphoratins A-J (16-25), together with 23 known compounds including seven benzenoids (6-12), three lignans (13-15), and 13 triterpenoids (26-38) were isolated from the fruiting body of Taiwanofungus camphoratus. Their structures were established by spectroscopic analysis. Selected compounds were examined for cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities. Compounds 9 and 21 showed moderate cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and Hep2 cell lines with ED ₅₀ values of 3.4 and 3.0 μg/mL, respectively. Compounds 21, 25, 26, 29-31, 33, and 36 demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production with IC₅₀ values of 2.5, 1.6, 3.6, 0.6, 4.1, 4.2, 2.5, and 1.5 μM, respectively, which were better than those of the nonspecific nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) (IC ₅₀: 25.8 μM). These results may substantiate the use of T. camphoratus in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of inflammation and cancer-related diseases. The newly discovered compounds deserve further development as anti-inflammatory candidates.