Studies On Chemical Constituents Of Picrorhiza In Tibet

Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora belongs to the Scrophulariaceae family. Its rhizome is one of Traditional Chinese Medicinal materials in common use. It can reduce fever, cool the blood, dry the damp and eliminate infantile malnutrition. Iridoids, phenol glycosides and cucurbitacins were found as three main kinds of chemical constituents in this plant. They were proved to have various pharmacological activities, such as protecting liver, promoting the function of gallbladder and so on. Though a few papers have concerned on the constituents of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora, it is important to reveal the constituents of the plant.Previous studies showed the 20%EtOH eluting fraction of this plant by using macroporus resin having inhibiting activities for anti hepatitis virus in vitro, but the separated compounds of its CHCl3 and EtOAc extraction portions didn't show any activities. Attempting to find some active compounds, we have separated 15 compounds from the BuOH extractin portions of this fraction, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral analysis(IR, MS, GC, 1HNMR, 13CNMR and 2D-NMR). They were:1. Scroneoside B2. 2-β-glucosyloxy-3,16,20,25-tetrahydroxy-9-methyl-19-norlanosta-5,23-diene -22-one3. Picroside I4. 6-feruloylcatalpol5. Androsin6. Scroside A7. Scroside D8. Veronicoside9. Scroneoside A10. Ferulic acid 11.ScrosideE12. Picroside II13. Aucubin14. Coniferin15. CatalpolAmong them, compound 1,7 and 11 are new and compound 2,4,8 were obtained from this plant for the first time.