Background: Ligularia kangtingensis, a species from the genus Ligularia (Compositae), is an indigenous plant in Southwest China and more than 20 species in this genus have been used as folk medicines in China.
Objective: The chemical constituents of the whole plant of L. kangtingensis were studied.
Materials and methods: The dried whole plants were extracted with ethanol. Its chemical constituents were mainly isolated and purified by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and their structures were identified on the basis of spectral analysis.
Results: Twelve known terpenoids, including two monoterpenoids, five sesquiterpenoids and five triterpenoids, were isolated and identified from the whole plant of L. kangtingensis.
Conclusion: All of the 12 known compounds were isolated for the first time from L. kangtingensis.
Keywords: Compositae; Ligularia kangtingensis; sesquiterpenoids; terpenoids.