Lignans from the seeds of Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida var. major N.E.Br.) against β-amyloid aggregation

Phytochemical investigation on the seeds of hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) led to the isolation of a new compound, (7'R, 8'R, 8S)-isolariciresinol (1), along with six known compounds (2-7). The structures of all compounds were determined based on spectroscopic data interpretation. The Aβ1-42 inhibition activity of all isolated compounds was evaluated in vitro. As a result, compounds 5 and 6 showed stronger inhibition of Aβ1-42 aggregation than curcumin, with inhibition rates of 70.59 and 68.14% at 20 μM. The possible mechanism of interaction between Aβ1-42 and the active compounds 5 and 6 was also investigated by molecular docking.