Soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitory activity of anthraquinone components from Aloe

Abstract

Aloe is a short-stemmed succulent herb widely used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases and as raw material in cosmetics and heath foods. In this study, we isolated and identified two new anthraquinone derivatives, aloinoside C (6) and aloinoside D (7), together with six known compounds from an aqueous dissolved Aloe exudate. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic analysis. The inhibitory effects of the isolated compounds on soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) were evaluated. Compounds 1–8 inhibited sEH activity potently, with IC50 values ranging from 4.1±0.6 to 41.1±4.2μM. A kinetic analysis of compounds 1–8 revealed that the inhibitory actions of compounds 1, 6 and 8 were non-competitive, whereas those of compounds 2–5 and 7 were the mixed-type. Molecular docking increases our understanding of receptor–ligand binding of all compounds. These results demonstrate that compounds 1–8 from Aloe are potential sEH inhibitors.