Study on chemical constituents of Anastatica Hierochuntica L.
Objective To study on the chemical constituents from a medicinal plant Anastatica Hierochuntica L.which is an annual plant growing in the Sahara-Arabian deserts.Methods The dried whole herb containing Anastatica Hierochuntica L.was pulverized,defatted,and extracted by acetone percolation,and the extracts were segregated and depurated by column chromatography on silica gel,polyamide,and dextran gel(Sephadex)LH-20.The physicochemical properties of the resulting compounds were determined and spectroscopic techniques were applied to determine their chemical structures in conjunction with literature reports.Results Seven flavonoids,two flavone-lignans,and one sterol glycoside were isolated from acetone extract of A nastatica Hierochuntica L Preliminarily,which were identified as 3'-O-methy-ltaxifolin(1),anastatin A(2),2,3-dehydrosilybin(3),silybin A(4),aromadendrin(5),(2R,3R)-4'-O-methyltaxifolin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(6),iso-quercitroside(7),quercetin(8),rutin(9),and daucosterol(10)in proper order.Conclusion Among the ten known compounds,3,6,and 7 are isolated from this plant for the first time.