Terpenoids from Melampodium perfoliatum.

The phytochemical study of the aerial parts of Melampodium perfoliatum afforded six melampolides (1, 3, 5-8), a eudesmanolide (9), two diterpene lactones (10, 11), and two ent-kaurane derivatives (12, 13), together with the known melampodin (2) and polymatin A (4). The structures of the compounds were elucidated by physical data analysis and chemical reactions. Compounds 2, 4, 5, and 10 exhibited dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity on the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced ear edema model, with ID50 values of 1.14, 0.56, 1.15, and 1.49 μmol/ear, respectively, compared to the reference compound indomethacin (0.24 μmol/ear).