Isolation and characterization of a new bioactive isoflavone from Derris eriocarpa

Derris eriocarpa How is an important medicinal plant, which is used as Zhuang ethnomedicine and Dai ethnomedicine to treat various diseases. One new compound, 3′,4′-di-O-methylene-5-hydroxy-7-methoxy-6-isopentenyl isoflavone (1) and a known synthetic but new naturally occurring compound trans-3,4,5-trimethoxy-4′-isopentenyloxyl-stilbene (2), together with five known compounds, 5,7-dimethoxy-6-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-4′-hydroxyl isoflavones (3), robustone (4), trans-3,4,5,4′-tetramethoxy-stilbene (5), robustic acid (6), and robustin (7) were isolated from the stem of D. eriocarpa. Spectroscopic analysis revealed the chemical structures of compounds 1–7.. Compounds 1 and 3 exhibited significant scavenging activities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical and superoxide anions. Compounds 1–3 exhibited potent antiproliferative activity on Hela cells.