Abietane diterpenoids from Salvia leucantha Cav. with cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities

One new abietane diterpenoid (1), together with eight known ones (2–9), was isolated from the aerial parts of Salvia leucantha Cav. Structural assignments were made by combining UV, IR, NMR, and HR-ESI-MS data, and the absolute configuration of 1 was established through ECD calculations. Compound 1 is a new 17-nor-abietane diterpenoid possessing an 18(4→3)-abeo-abietane skeleton. All isolates were screened for cytotoxicity towards five human tumour lines by the CCK-8 method. Compound 1 showed selective activity against H1299 cells with an IC50 of 23.1 ± 2.4 μM, whereas the positive control 5-fluorouracil gave 20.0 ± 1.7 μM. The anti-inflammatory potential of all compounds was examined by measuring LPS-triggered NO release in RAW 264.7 macrophages with the Griess reagent, using dexamethasone as the positive control. However, no tested compounds displayed anti-inflammatory activity. These findings suggest that 1 merits further investigation as a possible lead for anti-lung-cancer development.