Cyano- and Nitro-containing Compounds from the Roots of Semiaquilegia adoxoides

Four cyano-containing compounds, (1E,4α,5β,6α)-4,5,6-trihydroxy-2-cyclohexen-l-ylideneacetonitrile (1), lithospermoside (2), 4-hydroxy-2-β-D-glucopyranosyl oxyphenylacetonitrile (3) and 4-[β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl oxy]phenylacetonitrile (4), and a nitro-containing one, 4-[β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→6)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy]-1-(2-nitroethyl)benzene (5), as well as eleven other types of compounds, were isolated from the roots of Semiaquilegia adoxoides. Their structures were elucidated mainly by spectroscopic methods. Among them, 1 and 4 are new isolated compounds. The cyano- and nitro-containing compounds are very rare in plants and their isolation from one traditional Chinese medicine is really interesting.