Several novel tetrahydro-beta-carboline derivatives with amino acid residues at the 2-position and a glucosamine group at the 3-position of the tetrahydro-beta-carboline nucleus were synthesized from a readily available starting material, tryptophane, and were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity in the present study. Our results showed that all of the derivatives tested exhibited a significant inhibition of xylene-induced inflammation in mice. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.