Seven diterpenes, four polyacetylenes, a lipid glycerol, and two sterols were isolated from the methylene chloride fraction of the root of Aralia cordata. Their chemical structures were determined as (-)-pimara-8(14), 15-dien-19-oic acid (2), pimaric acid (3), (-)-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (4), 17-hydroxy-ent-kaur-15-en-19-oic acid (9), $7{alpha}$-hydroxy-(-)-pimara-8(14), 15-dien-19-oic acid (10), $16alpha$, 17 -dihydroxy-(-)-kauran-19-oic acid (11), 16-hydroxy-17-isovaleroyloxy-ent-kauran-19oic acid (12), falcarindiol (5), dehydrofalcarindiol (6), dehydrofalcarindiol-8-acetate (7), falcarindiol-8-acetate (8), alpha-mono palmitin (13), stigmasterol (1), and daucosterol (14) by the spectral evidences. These compounds were tested with COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition assays. This study found that compounds 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 inhibited COX-1 dependent conversion of the exogenous arachidonic acid to $PGE_2$ in a dose-dependent manner with $IC_{50}$ values of $134.2{mu}M$, $121.6{mu}M$, $170{mu}M$, $50.4{mu}M$, $11.7{mu}M$, $99.6{mu}M$, and $69.6{mu}M$, respectively. But, most of these compounds weakly inhibited COX-2 dependent $PGE_2$ generation. Among them, only compound 4 showed relatively significant inhibitory activity $(IC_{50};:;127.6{mu}M)$.
