Chemical studies of Chinese licorice-roots. II. Five new flavonoid constituents from the roots of Glycyrrhiza aspera PALL. collected in Xinjiang

Abstract

From the air-dried roots of Glycyrrhiza aspera PALL. (Leguminosae) collected in Xinjiang province, China (known as a kind of 'Shinkyo-Kanzo'), five new flavonoid compounds named glucoisoliquiritin apioside (1) (a chalcone bisdesmosidic triglycoside), 7-O-apioglucosyl-7,4'-dihydroxyflavone (5) (a flavone diglycoside), dehydroglyasperin C (7) (a prenylated isoflav- 3-ene derivative), asperopterocarpin (9) and 1-methoxyphaseollidin (12) (an O-prenylpterocarpan and a C-prenylpterocarpan, respectively), were isolated together with four known saponins, one known flavonoid O-glycoside, two known flavonoid C-glycosides, and seven flavonoids. The structures of the new compounds have been elucidated on the basis of their chemical and physicochemical properties. Some pterocarpan compounds showed moderate cytotoxic activity against KB and L1210 cells.