The bioassay-guided fractionation of preventive agents against lethality due to septic shock from the fruits of Illicium verum led to the isolation of two known racemic mixtures of phenylpropanoids, [1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 R,2 S and 1 S,2 R)-propanediol (1) and 1-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-(1 R,2 R and 1