Hybrids of 2-phenylchromone with phenylpropanoid from the agarwood of Aquilaria sinensis against renal fibrosis.

(±)-Aquilarines G-L (1-6), undescribed racemic heteropolymers 2-phenylchromone-phenylpropanoid were isolated from the agarwood of Aquilaria sinensis, and chiral HPLC separation resulted in six pairs of optically pure compounds. The structures of racemates and their enantiomers were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and ECD calculations. Biological evaluation on renal fibrosis were carried out, revealing that the enantiomers of compounds (±)-3-(±)-5, especially (±)-4 and (±)-5, could reduce the expression of fibrotic markers fibronectin and collagen I in TGF-β1 induced NRK-52e cells. Interestingly, the dextro-isomers [(+)-4 and (+)-5] showed more prominent activities than laevo-isomers [(-)-4 and (-)-5].