Sesquiterpene Lactones and Pentamethoxylated Flavone from Artemisia kulbadica Boiss. & Buhse

Artemisia is a genus of small herbs or shrubs found in Northern temperate regions. It belongs to the important family Compositae (Asteraceae), one of the most bulky vegetal groupings, which comprises about 1000 genera and over 20000 species. Within this family, Artemisia is included into the tribe Anthemideae and comprises itself over 500 species. The 500 species of Artemisia are mainly found in Asia, Europe and North America. They are mostly perennial herbs and dominating the vast steppe communities of Asia. Asia seems to show the greatest concentration of species with 150 accessions for China, 174 in the ex U.S.S.R, about 50 reported to occur in Japan and 35 species of the genus are found in Iran, of which two are endemic: A. melanolepis Boiss. and A. kermanensis Pold.

Artemisia species, widespread in nature, are frequently utilized for the treatment of disease such as malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, and infections by fungi, bacteria and viruses and this prompted us to conduct a phytochemical investigation of Artemisia kulbadica. The aerial parts of Artemisia kulbadica afforded a germacranolide and guaianolide type sesquiterpene lactones together with a pentamethoxylated flavone. The structures were elucidated by spectropic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR analysis.

Keywords: Artemisia kulbadica, Compositae, Sesquiterpene lactones, Guaianolide, Germacranolide, Flavone