Medicinal flowers. VIII. Radical scavenging constituents from the flowers of Prunus mume: Structure of prunose III

Abstract

The methanolic extract and its fractions from the fresh flowers of Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc. were found to show scavenging effects on 1,1-diphenylpicryl-2-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical and superoxide. The fragrance constituents of P. mume were analyzed by GC-MS and a new polyacylated sucrose, prunose III, was isolated from the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction. The structure of prunose III was determined on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence as 4,3′,4′,6′-tetra-O-acetyl-6-O-p-coumaroylsucrose. In addition, the scavenging effects of the principal constituents on DPPH radical and superoxide were examined. © 2003 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.