Chemical constituents from the leaves of Cinnamomum camphora and their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities

The phytochemical investigation on the n-BuOH fraction of the Cinnamomum camphora extract led to the isolation and identification of 37 secondary metabolites. Among them, compound 1, named as camphodiol A, was a new phenylpropanoid glycoside, while compounds 2-10, 12, 13, 16–25, 27, and 29-37 were firstly isolated from this plant. The isolates were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities, and compounds 9, 12-25, 27 and 29 showed potent activities with IC50 values ranging from 0.26 to 113.87 μM. The molecular docking analysis indicated that compound 22 could bind within the active pocket of the α-glucosidase through the hydrogen bonding and π-π interaction. These results demonstrated that the utilization of C. camphora leaves may have potential beneficial effects for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.