Investigation on Chemical Constituents from Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. Fruits and Evaluation of Their Anti-Inflammatory Activity
Haofan Lv1, Qihang Zhang1, Yufan He1, Wuwei Xin2, Wei Liu1,*, Chunpeng Wan1,3,*
1 University and College Key Lab of Natural Product Chemistry and Application in Xinjiang, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yili Normal University, Yining, China
2 Xinjiang Tianhongrun Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Changji, China
3 Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Postharvest Technology and Nondestructive Testing of Fruits and Vegetables, College of Agronomy, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
* Corresponding Author: Wei Liu. Email: 
; Chunpeng Wan. Email: 
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2026.076015
Received 12 November 2025; Accepted 13 March 2026; Published online 09 April 2026
Abstract
The fruits of
Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. have been traditionally utilized as both medicinal and edible resource, however, their specific phytochemical profile and anti-inflammatory mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. This study aimed to isolate and identify the chemical constituents from the fruits and evaluate their anti-inflammatory activities. The separation was performed using a combination of chromatographic techniques. The structures of the obtained compounds were elucidated using a combination of
1H and
13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds was initially investigated based on their capacity to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) release from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and further validated in a zebrafish inflammatory model. The results indicated that eight compounds were successfully isolated from
Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. fruits for the first time, including ursolic acid (
1), corosolic acid (
2), oleanolic acid (
3), maslinic acid (
4), 2-
O-(3′,4′-dihydroxybenzoyl)-2,4,6-trihydroxyphenylacetic acid (
5), neochlorogenic acid (
6), chlorogenic acid (
7), 3-
O-
p-coumaroylquinic acid (8). In the LPS-induced RAW264.7 cell model, compounds
6 and
7 exhibited stronger activity than the positive control dexamethasone (Dex, IC
50 = 11.13 μM ± 0.43 μM), with IC
50 values of 6.33 μM ± 0.18 μM and 8.06 μM ± 0.35 μM, respectively. In the LPS-induced zebrafish inflammation model, compounds
6 and
7 again demonstrated significant efficacy, exerting their anti-inflammatory effect primarily through the modulation of pro-inflammatory factors Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Interleukin-1
β (IL-1
β).
Keywords
Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.; triterpenoids; phenolic acids; anti-inflammatory
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