The rhizomes of Atractylodes plants (Compositae) have been used as an important crude drug since antiquity. They are listed in the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese pharmacopoeias, and are prescribed in traditional medicine as diuretic and stomachic drugs. They are classified into two groups that contain b-eudesmol and hinesol as the main constituents of the essential oil (Atractylodes lancea and Atractylodes chinensis; so-jutsu), and atractylon as the main constituent of the essential oil (Atractylodes japonica and Atractylodes ovata; byaku-jutsu).1) However, the phylogenetic relationship between A. lancea and A. japonica is considered to be closer than that of A. japonica and A. ovata.
2,3)As for the polar constituents of the rhizome of A. lancea, nine sesquiterpenoid glycosides (atractyloside A to I), L-tryptophan, and syringin were reported by Yahara et al. 4) On the other hand, we reported the isolation and the characterization of eight sesquiterpenoid glycosides, including atractyloside A-E, G, and a compound with a secoguaiane skeleton, a monoterpenoid glucoside, seven aromatic compound glycosides, and L-phenylalanine from the water-soluble portion of A. japonica. 5) In the present study, we undertook a reexamination of the water-soluble portion of the rhizome of A. lancea.The dried rhizome of A. lancea, which was cultivated in the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Plants Garden, was extracted with methanol, and the methanolic extract was suspended in water and successively extracted with ether and ethyl acetate. The aqueous layer was chromatographed on Amberlite XAD-II to give water and methanol eluate fractions. The methanol eluate fraction was chromatographed on Sephadex LH-20, and subjected to a combination of silica gel, Lobar RP-8 column chromatography, and HPLC. Then, 16 sesquiterpenoid glycosides (1-16), four monoterpenoid glucosides (17-20), two hemiterpenoid glycosides (21, 22), an alkyl glycoside (23), five aromatic compound glycosides (24-28), an acetylene derivative compound glucoside (29), two nucleosides (30, 31), and L-tryptophan (32) were isolated. Among them, five sesquiterpenoid glycosides (7-9,
