A new anti-inflammatory ß-carboline alkaloid from the hairy-root cultures of Eurycoma longifolia.

One new ß-carboline alkaloid 7-methoxy-(9H-ß-carbolin-1-il)-(E)-1-propenoic acid (1) together with 9-methoxycanthin-6-one (2) and 9-hydroxycanthin-6-one (3) were isolated from the hairy-root cultures of Eurycoma longifolia. The effects of these compounds on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 cells were investigated. Compound 1 strongly inhibited the production of NO while 2 and 3 having weak or inactive effect. Consistently, compound 1 decreased the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase.