There has been no phytochemical or and pharmacological report of the Chinese endemic plant Ophiorrhiza puffii till now. At present, seven structurally diverse compounds were obtained, including six triterpenoids (1-6) and one anthraquinone (7). Interestingly, 1-6 furnished three distinct carbon skeletons. Additionally, these phytochemical constituents showed multiple health-promoting effects. Triterpene 3 displayed considerable tyrosinase inhibitory activity (IC50 = 5.42 μM). Components 4 and 5 demonstrated significant antioxidant activity (IC50 = 4.23 and 2.03 mM, respectively). Meanwhile, compounds 2 and 5 exhibited moderate α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC50 = 0.89 and 0.72 mM, respectively). Moreover, the binding mechanisms for bioactive compounds 2, 3 and 5 and the corresponding α-glucosidase and tyrosinase proteins were preliminarily inspected by molecular docking experiments. This study filled up the knowledge gap of the unexplored chemical and biological profiles of secondary metabolites from the plant O. puffii for the first time.
Keywords: Ophiorrhiza puffii; health-promoting effects; molecular docking experiment; phytochemicals.