Ephedrate A, a new phenol compound from the root of Ephedra sinica

Abstract

Objective: To study the chemical constituents of the roots of Ephedra sinica Stapf. Methods: The roots of E. sinica were extracted with 90% ethanol and isolated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH 20, and semipreparative RP-HPLC. All the compounds were identified based on spectral analysis (including MS, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR, and 2D NMR) and compared with the reported literature. Their cytotoxicities were evaluated against three human cancer cell lines. Results: Two compounds were isolated from the roots of E. sinica and identified as (E)-eicosyl 3,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxycinnamate (1) and (E)-hexadecyl-ferulate (2). Conclusion: Compound 1 was a new phenol named ephedrate A, and compound 2 was newly isolated from this plant. These two compounds showed no obvious cytotoxic activity, and their medicinal activities need to be studied further.

Keywords

• Ephedra sinica Stapf
• Ephedraceae
• Chemical constituents