Isolation of secondary metabolites from the Iranian medicinal plant Eremurus persicus

Abstract

Eremurus persicus (Jaub. & Spach) Boiss. belonging to Xanthorrhoeaceae family is an endemic medicinal plant widely distributed in Iran. Its leaves have been traditionally used as a food and also as medicinal plant. Regarding the widespread application of E. persicus in Iranian folk medicine, and the insignificant investigation of its components, this study aimed at the isolation and identification of major secondary metabolites of this plant. By applying various chromatographic techniques, corchoionoside A (1), 4-amino-4-carboxychroman-2-one (2), isoorientin (3), ziganein 5-methyl ether (4), auraptene (5), and imperatorin (6) were isolated from the EtOAc and CHCl₃ fractions of the crude extract. Except isoorientin (3), all the identified phytoconstituents were reported for the first time from Eremurus genus.

Keywords: Eremurus persicus; Iranian medicinal herb; isoorientin; secondary metabolites.