Five new dimer compounds, namely Taiwaniacryptodimers A-E (1-5), were isolated from the methanol extract of the roots of Taiwania cryptomerioides. Their structures were established by mean of spectroscopic analysis and comparison of NMR data with those of known analogues. Their antifungal activities were also evaluated. Our results indicated that metabolites 1, 2, 4, and 5 displayed moderate antifungal activities against Aspergillus niger, Penicillium italicum, Candida albicans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Keywords: Taiwania cryptomerioides; Taxodiaceae; antifungal activities; dimer; diterpenoid; novel skeleton.