Isolation and identification of active compounds from Drimys winteri barks

The barks of Drimys winteri are used in folk medicine as a remedy to treat several diseases, including dolorous processes. Previous pre-clinical experiments carried out in our laboratories revealed that the hydroalcoholic extract of this plant showed anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive: properties. Such promising results led us to determine the analgesic compounds present in D. winteri. Through conventional chromatographic procedures with fractions of CH2Cl2 and EtOAc obtained from methanolic extract, it was found that polygodial (1), 1-beta-(p-methoxycynnamyl) polygodial (2), taxifolin (3) and astilbin (4), are the main components of these fractions. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited marked antinociceptive action by intraperitoneal and oral routes against acetic acid-induced abdominal constrictions in mice, suggesting that they are responsible, at least partially, for the antinociceptive effects of this plant. In addition, both compounds were notably more potent than aspirin and acetaminophen, two well-known drugs used here as comparison. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.