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Water-distilled essential oil of Ruta Corsica DC. was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Thirty-six compounds were identified, representing 93% of the oil with 2-nonyl acetate (42.9%) as the major constituent.

International audience; Aim and background: A botanical study is conducted to provide a standard diagnostic tool. In order to improve the quality assurance of the secondary tuberized roots of Harpagophytum procumbens, derived extract and phytomedicine, a simple, rapid, and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to assess the harpagoside. MATERIAL AND MEHODS: This HPLC assay was performed on a reversedphase C18 column with methanol and water (50/50-V/V) as the mobile phase with a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min and using a monitoring wavelength at 278 nm.Results and conclusion: This method was successfully applied to quantify these bioactive iridoid in an aqueous extract of H. procumbens and in its related phytomedicine "harpagophyton". The result demonstrated that the quantification of harpagoside, indicating that the quality control of the bioactive ingredient in H. procumbens, derived extract and phytomedicine, is critical to ensure its clinical benefits.

Background/Aims: An epidemic of hepatitis due to germander teas or capsules recently occurred in France. The aim of the present study was to show the hepatotoxicity of germander and determine its mechanism in mice. Methods: A germander tea lyophilisate and a fraction that isolated and concentrated 10-fold the furano neo -clerodane diterpenoids of the lyophilisate were prepared. Results: (1) Intragastric administration of the lyophilisate (1.25 g/kg) or the furano neo -clerodane diterpenoid fraction (0.125 mg/kg) produced similar midzonal liver cell necrosis at 24 hours in mice. (2) Toxicity was prevented by pretreatment with a single dose of troleandomycin (a specific inhibitor of cytochromes P4503A) and enhanced by pretreatment with dexamethasone or clotrimazole (two inducers of cytochromes P4503A). (3) Toxicity was attenuated by pretreatment with butylated hydroxyanisole or clofibrate (two inducers of microsomal epoxide hydrolase) and markedly increased by phorone-induced glutathione depletion. Conclusions: We conclude that germander constituents (probably its furano neo -clerodane diterpenoids) are transformed by cytochromes P450 (particularly P4503A) into hepatotoxic metabolites. The metabolites (probably epoxides) are partly inactivated by glutathione and probably epoxide hydrolase.

The isolation of N-methyl-4-hydroxy-3-(2',3'-epoxyisobutyl)-2-quinolone (1), a new natural compound, and candicine (2) from Galipea officinalis trunk bark is reported. This is the first report of candicine in the genus Galipea.

Galipea officinalis Hancock is a shrubby tree reputed in folk medicine for its many properties which may be related to its alkaloid composition. We present in this paper the structural elucidation of five quinoline alkaloids: cuspareine, cusparine, and galipine, that have been previously described, demethoxycusparine, newly isolated in this species of Galipea and a new quinoline alkaloid named galipinine which is the 3',4'-methylenedioxycuspareine.

The essential oil from the leaves of Choisya ternata was analyzed by GS/MS. Eighteen components were characterized. The principal oil constituents were α-phellandrene (64–71%) and myrcene (11.5%). Essential oils analysis of leaves collected during spring and autumn revealed differences in the composition.

From the stem bark of Galipea trifoliata the glycoflavones 2″- O -xylosylswertisin, 2″- O -glucosylswertisin, 2″- O -glucosylisoswertisin and 2″- O -β- d -xylosyl-8- C -β- d -galactosylapigenin were identified.

From the stem bark of Raputia paraensis were identified schaftoside, vicenin-1 and two new compounds: 6- C -β- d -glucosyl-8- C -β- d -xylosylchrysoeriol and 6- C -xylosyl-8- C -glucosylchrysoeriol.

From the stem bark of Galipea trifoliata were identified swertisin, isoswertisin, 2″-O-xylosylisoswertisin, vicenin-2, schaftoside, isoschaftoside and two new compounds: 6,8 di-C-glucosylgenkwanin and 2‴-O-xylosyl-6,8-di-C-glucosylgenkwanin.

Besides the known magnoflorine, four new protoberberines were isolated from leaves of Isopyrum thalictroides . Their structures were deduced from spectral data. The names pseudoberberine, pseudocoptisine, pseudocolumbamine and dehydropseudocheilanthifoline are proposed for them.

Les quatre pseudoprotoberberines extraites de l'Isopyrum thalictroides L. ont ete reduites par NaBH4 en tetrahydropseudoprotoberberines correspondantes. La confrontation de leurs donnees de RMN de 13C avec celles de protoberberines de synthese permet d'une part d'attribuer une configuration du type trans-1 a ces quatre bases reduites et d'autre part de mettre en evidence pour cette configuration trans-1 un critere sǔr de differenciation, base sur le deplacement chimique du carbone C-8, entre tetrahydroprotoberberines (sub-stituees en 9, 10) et tetrahydropseudoprotoberberines (substituees en 10, 11). The four pseudoprotoberberins extracted from Isopyrum thalictroides L. were reduced with sodium borohydride to the corresponding tetrahydropseudoprotoberberins. Comparison between the 13C NMR spectra of these and of synthetic protoberberins allowed us to assign a trans-1 configuration to the four reduced alkaloids and also to provide for this particular configuration an unequivocal criterion for the differentiation (based on the chemical shift of C-8) between tetrahydroprotoberberins (9, 10 substituted) and tetrahydropseudoprotoberberins (10, 11 substituted).

Four new furoquinoline alkaloids (evolatine, evoxine, 6-methoxy-7-hydroxy-dictamnine, haplopine) are isolated from the leaves of Monnieria trifolia. The structures are elucidated by spectrometric methods and some chemical transformations.

The following substances were isolated from the leaves of Melicope indica : N -methylatanine dictamnine, evolitrine, meliternatin, melibentin and a new flavonoid which was shown to be 3,5,8-trimethoxy-6,7: 3′,4′-dimethylenedioxyflavone by its spectroscopic properties.

From the stem and the root bark of Almeidea guyanensis were identified isoswertisin, 6,8-di- C -arabinosylapigenin and two new compounds 2″- O -xylosyl-8- C -arabinosylgenkwanin, and 6- C -glucosyl-8- C -arabinosylgenkwanin.

From Almeidea guyanensis , besides N -methylatanine, N -methylflindersine, N -methylkhaplofoline and 4-demethyl- N -methylatanine, a new 2-quinolone, almeine, has been isolated and its structure elucidated as 4-isopropenyl- N -methyl-3,4-dihydrofuro-2-quinolone.

Four acridones were isolated from the leaves of VEPRIS FITORAVINA and VEPRIS MACROPHYLLA (Rutaceae). Three of these alkaloids were identified as arborinine, evoxanthine, and 1,3-dimethoxy-10-methylacridan-9-one by comparison with authentic samples or by comparison of their properties with published data. The remaining alkaloid was identified on the basis of its spectral data as a new compound, 1-hydroxy-2,3,4-trimethoxyacridan-9-one.

In addition to phebalosin and ramosin, the air-dried stem and root barks of Galipea trifoliata contain a third previously unreported coumarin identified as 7-isopentenyloxy-8-( trans -1′,2′-epoxy-3′-methyl-3′-butenyl)coumarin.