Many species belonging to the Scrophularia genus have been used since ancient times as
folk remedies for many medical conditions such as
scrofulas,
scabies,
tumors,
eczema,
psoriasis,
inflammations. The aim of this study was to characterize the
matrix metalloproteinases (
MMPs) inhibitor compounds of the Scrophularia striata extract by bio-guide fractionation. The aerial parts of S. striata were collected and different extracts were sequentially prepared with increasingly polar
solvents. The
MMPs inhibitory activity of the
crude extract and its fractions were evaluated by the Zymoanalysis method. The pure compounds were purified from the active fraction by chromatography methods. Chemical structures were deduced by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. Two active compounds (
acteoside and
nepitrin) were identified by bio-guide fractionation. The inhibitory effects of
nepitrin and
acteoside at 20 µg/mL were about 56 and 18 percent, respectivly. The inhibitory effects of
acteoside at 80 µg/mL were increased to about 73 percent. In summary, the results suggest that
nepitrin effectively inhibited
MMPs inhibitory activity at low concentrations, whereas
acteoside showed inhibition at high concentrations.