Objective: To study the chemical constituents of Halenia elliptica.
Method: The air-dried whole plants of Halenia elliptica were extracted with 90% EtOH. The EtOH extract was condensed to a small amount of volume and extracted with petroleum ether, EtOAc and n-BuOH, successively. The compounds were isolated and purified by column chromatography from the EtOAc fraction, and identified based on spectral analyses (MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR).
Result: 12 compounds were isolated from H. elliptica, and characterized as 8-hydroxy-2-methylchromone (1), 5-methoxy-2-methylchromone (2), 7-epi-vogeloside (3), coniferl aldehyde (4), sinapaldehyde (5), norbellidifolin (6), 1-hydroxyl-2,3,4,6-tetramethoxyxanthone (7), 1-hydroxyl-2,3,4,7-tetramethoxyxanthone (8), 1-hydroxyl-2,3,5-trimethoxyxanthone (9), together with azelaic acid, beta-sitosterol, and oleanolic acid.
Conclusion: Compounds 1, 2 were new natural compounds and compounds 3-6, 10 were obtained from H. elliptica for the first time and compound 6 showed inhibitory activities against HBsAg and HBeAg secretion with IC50 value of 0.77 and < 0.62 mmol x L(-1), respectively.