Secondary metabolites of Staehelina uniflosculosa Sibth. & Sm

The genus Staehelina (Asteraceae, tribe Cardueae) is represented only by 7 species worldwide. S. uniflosculosa Sibth. & Sm is a Balkan endemic and had not been studied previously. This study is a continuation of the ongoing phytochemical analysis of plants from Asteraceae family. The crude extract of the aerial parts of S. uniflosculosa was fractionated by using several chromotographic methods. So far, four flavonoids (eriodictyol, nepetin, hispidulin and eriodictyol-3′-O-glucopyranoside), one phenolic acid (protocatechuc acid), one phenolic glycoside (4-hydroxyphenyl-1-O-glucopyranoside), one lignan (pinoresinol) and three sesquiterpene lactones (artemorin, tamirin and reynosin) were isolated and identified. Structure elucidation of the pure compounds was achieved by using spectroscopic methods (1D and 2D-NMR).

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Dr. N. Krigas (Scientific collaborator of Department of Crop Production, Technological Education Institute of Thessaloniki) for the identification of the plant material.