New 2-(2-Phenylethyl)chromone derivatives from agarwood originating from Aquilaria sinensis

Abstract

Two new dimeric 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones, aquilasinenones L and M (1 and 2), and one new monomer analogue, 5S, 6 R, 7S, 8 R-tetrahydroxy-[2-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl]- 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrochromone (3), together with two known compounds, were isolated from the artificial agarwood originating from Aquilaria sinensis. Compound 1 was the first structure found with C8-O-C4"' linkage among 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone dimers. Their structures were unambiguously elucidated based on 1 D and 2 D NMR spectroscopy, as well as by comparison with the literature. The absolute configuration was determined by ECD calculation. None of the compounds exhibited acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Agarwood
• Aquilaria sinensis
• 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromone
• ECD calculation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFC1706404), China Agriculture Research System (CARS-21), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870668), National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2018ZX09735005).