Broussonetia papyrifera (Linn.) Vent., belonging to the family Moraceae, has a wide distribution in China. The roots, barks, and fruits are all used in Chinese traditional and herbal drugs. Previous phytochemical investigations of this plant have resulted in the isolation of flavonols, coumarins, and 1,3-diphenylpropanes. In a previous study, we isolated three alkaloids from this plant with aglycosidase-inhibiting activities as a part of our search for bioactive compounds from natural resources. In this article, we describe the isolation and structural elucidation of four new euphane triterpenoids.

Four new euphane triterpenes, (3 beta)-3-(acetyloxy)eupha-7,25-dien-24-one (1), (3 beta,24R)-3-(acetyloxy)eupha-7,25-dien-24-ol (2), (3 beta,24S)-eupha-7,25-diene-3,24-diol (3), and (3 beta,24R)-eupha-7,25-diene-3,24-diol (4) were isolated from the barks of Broussonetia papyrifera, a tree whose roots, barks, and fruits were used as herbal drugs in China. The structures of 14 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidence and chemical methods.

 

Chengdu Institute of Biology, CAS Prof. WANG Mingkui's team studied this research and it has been supported by National Key Technologies RD Program.