Three new sesquiterpenes in black medicine
Lindera aggregata (Sims) Kosterm. is a plant of the Sapindaceae family, also known as Tiantai Wuyao, Dwarf Camphor, Cinnamomum camphora, Tongqianchai, Banpi Chai, etc. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Anhui, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places. Using its dried root tubers as medicine, it has a pungent taste, warm nature, and can regulate the meridians of the lungs, spleen, kidneys, and bladder. It has the effects of promoting qi circulation, relieving pain, warming the kidneys, and dispelling cold. Mainly used for treating chest and abdominal distension, shortness of breath, cold bladder deficiency, frequent enuresis, hernia pain, and abdominal pain caused by coldness. Modern pharmacological research has found that it has anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, lipid-lowering, and hypoglycemic effects. Its chemical composition mainly includes furan sesquiterpenes and lactones, volatile oils, flavonoids, isoquinoline alkaloids, etc. In order to further clarify its pharmacological substance basis, this experiment studied the chemical composition of the root tubers of Wuyao produced in Tiantai Mountain, Zhejiang Province.

Sesquiterpenes are the main active ingredients of black medicine, with anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti hyperlipidemia activities. The most commonly reported components in black medicine are furan sesquiterpenes and their lactones, mainly including eucalyptol type, camphorane type, gibberellin type, and guaiaceae type. In this experiment, four sesquiterpenes were isolated from the alcohol extract of black medicinal plants in the genus Piper in the family Camphoraceae. The main skeleton structures of the sesquiterpenes are camphorane type and eucalyptol type. Compounds 1-3 are new compounds, and compound 4 was isolated from the family Camphoraceae for the first time. Using quantum mechanics techniques, such as DP4+feasibility analysis, the relative configuration of compound 1 was further determined, and CP3 determined the relative configuration of a pair of diastereomers 2 and 3. This study enriches the chemical composition of black medicine and provides a material basis for its activity screening.