Chemical Constituents of the Twigs and Leaves of Magnolia liliifera.

Four previously undescribed compounds, comprising an aromadendrane-type sesquiterpenoid (maglilin A, 1), a germacrane-type sesquiterpenoid (maglilin B, 2), an unusual seco-lignan (maglilin C, 3), and a trichlorinated diphenyl ether (ethyl trichloroasterrate, 4), were isolated from the twigs and leaves of M. liliifera, along with twenty known analogues (5-24). Their structures were established through comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, with the absolute configurations of 1-3 being further confirmed by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. The isolation of sesquiterpenoids and lignans aligns with the characteristic metabolites of the genus Magnolia. Notably, the hydroperoxy group in compound 1 and the chlorinated diphenyl ethers 4 and 6, together with 15 known compounds, are all reported for the first time from Magnolia, highlighting the chemodiversity of this species and serving as potential chemotaxonomic markers. In biological assays, compounds 10, 11, 15, and 19 exhibited weak cytotoxicity against HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, with IC50 values ranging from 20.99 to 29.07 µM, while no activity was observed against A549 and HeLa cell lines. None of the tested compounds demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages at concentrations up to 20.00 µM.