Coumarins, flavonol glycosides and a group of unidentified aglycones have so far been reported from the inflorescence of Artemisia scoparia [1,2,3]. One of the coumarins, scoparone, exhibiting marked hypotensive and tranquillising activity, has recently been approved for clinical trials. Continuing our chemical investigations on medicinal plants of west Rajasthan, we now report for the first time the isolation of five flavonoids, 7-methylaromadendrin (3, 5, 4'-trihydroxy-7-metho--xyflavanone), rhamnocitrin (3, 5, 4'-trihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone), eupalitin (3, 5, 4-trihydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxyflavone), cirsimaritin (5, 4'-dihydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxyflavone), eupatolitin (3, 5, 3, 4'-tetrahydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxyflavone) and 7-methylesculetin from Artemisia swparia inflorescence, along with two known coumarins scoparone (0.9 %) and scopoletin.The chloroform extract of the air dried inflorescence was concentrated to dryness. The residue was partitioned between equal volumes of methanol (75 %) and petroleum ether (60-80). The petroleum ether phase was extracted twice more with 75 % MeOH. The combined MeOH phase was once washed with petroleum ether and concentrated, when scoparone as a major constituent separated out. The filtrate was concentrated and chromatographed over a column of silice gel. The column was eluted successively with benzene and benzene-chloroform mixtures of increasing polarity.The work up of benzene fractions 6-14 (250 ml each) yielded a further crop of scoparone. The mother liquor and the isolate from benzene fractions (15-19) were combined and rechromatographed over a second column of silica gel giving a colourless crystalline solid, identified as 7-methylesculetin by mp., UV, JR and direct comparison with an authentic sample. Later benzene fractions (20-25) yielded a colourless crystalline solid. Its identity with 7-methylaromadendrin was established by direct comparison with an authentic sampDownloaded by: NYU. Copyrighted material.
