First report of n-alkylresorcinol occurrence in the Euphorbiaceae family: Mercurialis perennis L

Dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis L., Euphorbiaceae) is a perennial herb, particular important in phytotherapy and anthroposophic medicine. Therefore, detailed studies on the phytochemical composition are of great interest. A comprehensive GC/MS screening of chloroform extracts obtained from aerial and root parts from M. perennis revealed several homologues of n-alkylresorcinols (ARs). GC/MS investigations of silylated samples in combination with LC/(APCI)MSⁿ studies showed three major ARs with odd numbered aliphatic side chains (C19 : 0, C21 : 0, and C23 : 0), accompanied by small amounts of C15 : 0, C17 : 0, C20 : 0, and C25 : 0. Furthermore, several minor ARs with oxygenated functionalities as well as others with double bounds in the side chain were tentatively identified. Quantitative data on the ARs in aerial and root parts of the plant were obtained in the GC/MS by external calibration with synthetic reference standards when a tendency to less ARs was found in roots compared to aerial parts. Highest amounts of ARs were found in aerial parts while root parts containing only low concentrations. To the best of our knowledge this marks the first report of ARs in the Euphorbiaceae family. Since for n-alkylresorcinols a number of biological activities have been described recently in the literature [1] (e.g. anti-inflammatory activity [2]), these compounds may attract special attention in pharmacognosy.

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[2] Knödler M et al. Phytochemistry 2008; 69: 988–993