Inhibitory activity of benzophenones from Anemarrhena asphodeloides on pancreatic lipase.

Pancreatic lipase is a key enzyme for lipid absorption by hydrolysis of total dietary fats. Therefore, inhibition of pancreatic lipase is suggested to be an effective therapy in the regulation of obesity. The EtOAc-soluble fraction of Anemarrhena asphodeloides rhizomes significantly inhibited pancreatic lipase activity as assessed using porcine pancreatic lipase as an in vitro assay system. Further fractionation of the EtOAc-soluble fraction of A. asphodeloides led to the isolation of a new benzophenone glycoside, zimoside A (1), together with the eleven known compounds iriflophenone (2), 2,4',6-trihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (3), foliamangiferoside A (4), (2,3-dihydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)(4-hydroxyphenyl)-methanone (5), 1,4,5,6,-tetrahydroxyxanthone (6), isosakuranetin (7), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (8), 4-hydroxyacetophenone (9), vanillic acid (10), tyrosol (11) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (12). Among the isolated compounds, 3, 5 and 10 showed significant inhibition of pancreatic lipase activity.