Objective: To study the chemical constituents in the needles of Taxus cuspidata collected from Japan.
Methods: Chemical constituents were isolated by column chromatography, TLC and preparative HPLC. The structures were identified on the basis of NMR spectral analysis.
Results: Six non-taxoids were isolated and identified as: 4-[(1E)-3-hydroxy-1-buten-1-yl]-3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (1), megastigm-5-ene-3, 9-diol (2), 6alpha-epoxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (3), 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone (4), 12-hydroxy-alpha-cyperone (5), scutellarein-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside (6).
Conclusion: Compounds 2 - 6 are isolated from Taxus genus for the first time. Compound 1 is obtained from Taxus cuspidata for the first time.