Epifriedelanol from the Root Bark of Ulmus davidiana Inhibits Cellular Senescence in Human Primary Cells

Since cellular senescence involves organismal aging as well as diverse diseases, aging intervention might contribute to inhibit the aging process as well as aging-associated diseases. We tried to search for effective compounds from the root bark of Ulmus davidiana that are able to inhibit cellular senescence in human fibroblasts (HDFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Twenty-two compounds from the root bark of U. davidiana were isolated and screened for their inhibitory effects on adriamycin-induced cellular senescence by measuring senescence-associated beta-galatosidase (SA-beta-gal) activity. Among twenty-two compounds isolated, epifriedelanol (3), ssioriside (15), and catechin-7-O-beta-D-gluco-pyranoside (22) had inhibitory effects on adriamycin-induced cellular senescence in HDFs. Friedelin (2), epifriedelanol (3), and catechin-7-O-beta-apiofuranoside (18) were active in HUVECs. In particular, epifriedelanol (3) suppressed adriamycin-induced cellular senescence as well as replicative senescence in HDFs and HUVECs. These results suggest that epifriedelanol (3) reduces cellular senescence in human primary cells and might be used to develop dietary supplements or cosmetics that modulate tissue aging or aging-associated diseases.