Flavonoids with Inhibitory Effects on NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation from Millettia velutina

Eight new flavonoids, including two β-hydroxy/methoxychalcones, velutones A and B (1 and 2), two 1,3-diarylpropan-1-ols, velutols C and D (3 and 4), a dihydroxychalcone, velutone E (5), a chalcone, velutone F (6), a furanoflavanone, velutone G (7), and a furanoflavonol, velutone H (8), and 14 known compounds were isolated from Millettia velutina. Their structures were determined by high-resolution electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HR-ESIMS) and spectroscopic data analyses and time-dependent density functional theory electronic circular dichroism (TD-DFT–ECD) calculations. Among the isolated constituents, compound 6 exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect (IC50: 1.3 μM) against nigericin-induced IL-1β release in THP-1 cells. The initial mechanism of action study revealed that compound 6 suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation via blocking ASC oligomerization without affecting the priming step, which subsequently inhibited caspase-1 activation and IL-1β secretion. Most importantly, compound 6 exerted potent protective effects in the LPS-induced septic shock mice model by improving the survival rate of mice and suppressing serum IL-1β release. These results demonstrated that compound 6 had the potential to be developed as a broad-spectrum NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor for the treatment of NLRP3-related disease.