Chemical Constituents Of Liverwort Marchantia Polymorpha L.

The bryophytes are taxonomically placed between the algae and the pteridophytes and more than 20,000 species are known in the world. The bryophytes have been widely used in folk remedies to cure various kinds of diseases, such as burns, cuts, infection and pneumonia. Recently, with the further research of liverwort, many terpeniods and aromatic compounds with novel structures and significant bioactivities have been obtained from liverworts, especially from the genus Marchantia. Many studies indicate that bisbibenzyls exhibit various bioactivities, including muscle-relaxing and cytotoxic activities and inhibit 5-lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase, and calmodulin.In this paper, liverworts Marchantia polymorpha L. collected in Mount Leshan Sichuan China, was phytochemically investigated. With chromatographic separation, we have isolated 18 compounds, including nine bisbibenzyls : Marchantin A( I ), Plagiochin E(II),Isorricardin D(III),Polymorphatin A(IV), Marchantin L(V), Perrotetin E(VI), Marchantin E(VII), 3-[(3-hydroxymethyl)phenyl]oxy-2, 12-dihydroxybibezenyl( VIII), Marchantin B(IX); seven triterpenoids: 6α,11α,22-trihydroxyhopane(X), 17(21)-hopene(XI), 20α,22-dihyroxyhopane(XII), 22-hyro-xyhopane(XIII), 6α,22-dihydroxyhopane ( X IV),21,22-dihydroxyhopane (XV), 22,28-dihydroxyhopane (XVI) and β-Sitosterol(XVII), Daucosterine (X VIII). Compounds III, IV,VIII are novel compounds, while compounds V,VI were isolated from this specie for the first time.