NotesGentiana loureirii GRISEB. (Gentianaceae), a perennial herb widely distributed in South China, 1) is a Chinese folk medicine used for the treatment of various disorders related to inflammation and infections.2) We previously reported the isolation of iridoids, flavonoids, and oleanolic acid as its predominant constituents.3) In further investigation on the minor constituents of this plant, a novel phenolic acid glycoside, cyclic 4-O-b-D-glucopyranosylcaffeic acid dimer (1), a new a-tetralone, 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-a-tetralone 4-O-b-D-glucopyranoside (2), and a new triterpenoid saponin, 3b,30-dihydroxy-12-ursen-28-oic acid 28-O-b-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3), were isolated along with five known compounds, rotundic acid, tormentic acid, 2a,3a,23-trihydroxy-12,20(30)-ursadien-28-oic acid, 1a,2a,3a,24-tetrahydroxy-12-oleanen-28-oic acid, and 1-O-feruloylglucose. Herein, we report the isolation and structure elucidation of these new compounds.
Results and DiscussionThe EtOH extract of the whole plants of Gentiana loureirii was fractionated with petroleum ether, CHCl 3 , EtOAc, and nBuOH. Separation by a combination of silica gel, octadecyl silica (ODS) column chromatography, and preparative HPLC afforded three new compounds, 1-3, and five known compounds, rotundic acid, 4) tormentic acid, 5) 2a,3a,23-trihydroxy-12,20(30)-ursadien-28-oic acid, 6) 1a,2a,3a,24-tetrahydroxy-12-oleanen-28-oic acid, 7) and 1-O-feruloylglucose.8) The structures of the known compounds were determined by interpretation of their spectroscopic data as well as by comparison with reported data. and the carbonyl carbon at d C 166.7 (C-9) were observed, indicating attachments of the glucose moiety to C-4 of the caffeic acid residue via a glycosidic linkage and the caffeoyl group to C-6Ј of the glucose moiety via an ester linkage. These findings in the NMR spectra in combination with the molecular formula suggested a symmetrical structure composed of two 4-O-b-D-glucopyranosylcaffeic acid units which were connected with each other by ester linkages between each C-6Ј in one unit and the carbonyl carbon (C-9) in the other unit to form a 26-membered macrolide ring. The large coupling constant (Jϭ10.3 Hz) observed between H-5Ј and H-6Јb in the 1 H-NMR spectrum was in accord with the energy-minimized structure (Fig. 1) obtained by MOPAC in CS Chem3D, which showed a dihedral angle of near 180°between H-5Ј and H-6Јb bonds. Therefore compound 1, tentatively named cyclic 4-O-b-Dglucopyranosylcaffeic acid dimer, was established to have the