Two new xanthones (1-2), together with four known ones (3-6), were isolated from whole herb of Swertia elata. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques. Their anti-tobacco mosaic virus (anti-TMV) activity test revealed that 1-6 showed weak anti-TMV activities with inhibition rate in the range of 15.2-28.8% at the concentration of 20 μM.
Keywords: Swertia elata; anti-TMV activity; xanthones.