Salicornia herbacea is an annual halophytic glasswort that has been employed as a culinary vegetable, salad, and traditional medicinal resource. Chemical investigation of the aerial parts of S. herbacea led to the isolation of two new (1, 2) and known (3) flavanones as well as a new nature-derived (4) and two known chromone derivatives (5, 6). These purified compounds were evaluated for their suppressive potentials against the release of high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), which has captured attention as a viable target for alleviating serious septic manifestations or septicemia. The phenolic compounds improved the survival rates of cecal ligation and puncture operation (CLP) in murine models, simulating severe septic shock and its related complications, to 40-60%. These results collectively validate that flavanone- and chromone-based secondary metabolites may serve as prospective prodrugs or food additives that may be commercialized for the control of septic complications and lethality.
Keywords: Salicornia herbacea; chromones; flavanones; high mobility group box 1 protein; severe sepsis. endothelial barrier integrity.