Planta Med 2008; 74 - PB20
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1084366

Contribution to the phytochemical study of Paronychia chionaea Boiss

S Avunduk 1, 2, MA Lacaille-Dubois 3, T Miyamoto 4, ÖA Çalışkan 1
  • 1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, 35100 Turkey
  • 2Medical Laboratory Programme, Vocational School of Health Care, Mugla University, Marmaris, Mugla, 48187 Turkey
  • 3Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, Unité de Molécules d'Intérét Biologique, UMIB UPRES EA3660, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Bourgogne, 7, Bd. Jeanne d'Arc, BP 87900, F-21079, Dijon Cedex, France
  • 4Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812–8582 Japan

Paronychia, a genus of the family Illecebraceae, is represented by 28 species in the flora of Turkey. P. chionaea Boiss. is an endemic plant, which is a prostrate caespitose herb, often woody at the base [1]. Although there are no reports of the medicinal uses of P. chionaea, P. argentea Lam. has been used in Palestinian and Jordanian traditional medicine for its hypoglycemic activity and to treat disorders of the urinary system [2,3]. Our previous phytochemical research on P. chionaea Boiss has resulted in the isolation and characterization of four gypsogenic acid-type saponins [4]. In continuation of our phytochemical investigation on this plant, three further secondary metabolites were isolated from its roots by using various solid/liquid chromatographic techniques on reversed phase Silica gel RP-18, Sephadex LH 20 and polyamide. The structure was established mainly by means of 1D and 2D NMR experiments (1H-NMR, 13NMR/DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, NOESY, HSQC, HMBC) and by FABMS. One of them belonging to the flavonoid structural type has been elucidated as 6-C-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-7-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl]-luteolin 3'-methyl ether. To our knowledge, the occcurence of this flavonoid had not been previously reported. The structural investigation of the two other compounds is still in progress.

References: 1. Davis, P. H. (1965) Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands; Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh,; Vol. 2, p 258.

2. Ali-Shtayeh, M.S. et al. (2000)J. Ethnopharmacol. 73:221–232.

3. Hamdan, I. et al. (2004)J. Ethnopharmacol. 93:117–121.

4. Avunduk, S. et al. (2007)J. Nat. Prod. 70:1830–1833.