Unusual coumarin patterns of Pelargonium species forming the origin of the traditional herbal medicine umckaloabo

Abstract

The coumarin patterns of Pelargonium sidoides DC. and Pelargonium reniforme CURT., forming the origin of the herbal medicine 'umckaloabo', were analysed and compared for therapeutic equivalence. For both species, members of tri- and tetraoxygenated coumarins almost exclusively were present in the respective metabolic pools. However, the roots of P. sidoides and P. reniforme expressed conspicuously distinct coumarin variations, with umckalin, its 7-O-methyl ether, 7-acetoxy-5,6-dimethoxycoumarin, 6,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxycoumarin, 6,8-dihydroxy-5,7-tetramethoxycoumarin, artelin and three unique coumarin sulfates as uncommon metabolites of this class of secondary products of P. sidoides. Furthermore, the highly oxygenated but known coumarins fraxinol, isofraxetin and fraxidin were associated with the new 8-hydroxy-5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin as representatives of P. reniforme. Of the twelve identified coumarins only the two species shared the ubiquitous scopoletin and the unique 6,7,8-trihydroxycoumarin. From the oxygenation patterns it is evident that the majority of these Pelargonium coumarins match the recently established basic structural requirements for marked antibacterial activity, i.e. the presence of a methoxy function at C-7 and an OH group at either the C-6 or C-8 position. The current data on the coumarin profiles of each Pelargonium species also indicate a previous erroneous identification of the plant material claimed to be P. reniforme. Absence and presence of umckalin and its 7-O-methyl ether defines P. reniforme and P. sidoides, respectively.