# Phytochemicals from a Desert Crop, Sand Rice (Agriophyllum squarrosum), and Their Inflammatory Activity

## TL;DR

This study explores phytochemicals in sand rice, a desert plant, and identifies new compounds with anti-inflammatory properties.

## Contribution

The discovery of ten new isoflavanone derivatives and their anti-inflammatory activity in sand rice.

## Key findings

- Ten new isoflavanone derivatives and thirty-six known compounds were isolated from Agriophyllum squarrosum.
- Compounds 5 and 21 showed strong anti-inflammatory activity, surpassing L-NMMA.
- Structural revision of suaeglaucin C was achieved using NMR and ECD data.

## Abstract

Agriophyllum squarrosum (sand rice),
a resilient desert plant with ecological and nutritional significance,
has applications in food, forage, and traditional medicine. Despite
its traditional use in China for treating inflammatory symptoms such
as ophthalmia, urethritis, and oral ulcers, limited phytochemical
studies restrict its pharmacological exploration. In this study, ten
undescribed isoflavanone derivatives, including dihydroisoflavanones
(1–6) and coumaronochromones (7–10), along with thirty-six known compounds
(11–46), were isolated from A. squarrosum. The new structures were determined
by NMR, HRESIMS, and DFT calculations of their NMR and ECD data, which
also led to the structural revision of suaeglaucin C. Anti-inflammatory
assays revealed compounds 5 and 21 as potent
inhibitors, outperforming L-NMMA, and the structure–activity
relationship of the optically active dihydroisoflavones was briefly
discussed. All compounds were isolated from this plant for the first
time, except for compounds 11, 19, and 20.