Abstract:
Gnaphalium affine D. Don, a medicinal and edible plant, has been used to treat gout in traditional Chinese medicine and popularly consumed in China for a long time. A detailed phytochemical investigation on the aerial part of
G.
affine led to the isolation of two new esters of caffeoylquinic acid named (-) ethyl 1, 4-di-
O-caffeoylquinate (
1 ) and (-) methyl 1, 4-di-
O-caffeoylquinate (
2 ), together with 35 known compounds (
3 -
37 ). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data and first-order multiplet analysis. All the isolated compounds were tested for their xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity with an
in vitro enzyme inhibitory screening assay. Among the tested compounds,
1 (IC
50 11.94 μmol·L
-1) and
2 (IC
50 15.04 μmol·L
-1) showed a good inhibitory activity. The current results supported the medical use of the plant.