New triterpenoids from the aerial parts of the Uygur medicine Salvia deserta

Phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of Salvia deserta led to the isolation of eight new pentacyclic triterpenoids including three oleanane- (1 - 3) and five ursane-type (4 - 8) triterpenoids, whose structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis and quantum chemical calculation. Weak immunosuppressive potency was observed for compounds 1, 2, and 4 - 8 via inhibiting the secretion of cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 in LPS-induced macrophages RAW264.7 at 20 mu M. In addition, compounds 1, 2, and 4 - 6 exhibited moderate protective activity on t-BHP-induced oxidative injury in HepG2 cells.