Secondary Metabolites from the Root of Aralia echinocaulis Hand. -Mazz.

The root of Aralia echinocaulis Hand. -Mazz. ( Araliaceae), are used as traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in China. A phytochemical investigation was carried out to this herb, and obtained twelve secondary metabolites, i.e., syringin (1), adenosine (2), saccharose (3), araliasaponin VII (4), araliasaponin VI (5), araliasaponin XI V (6), araliasaponin XVI (7), syringaresino l (8), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (9), coniferaldehyde (10), isovanillin (11) and β -sitosterol (12) . Their structures were determined mainly by comprehensive analyses of 1 H and 13 C NMR spectrum and comparison with available literature data or the authentic compounds . To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report that all of compounds have been isolated from the titled plant, and syringin should be one of the major active constituents of A. echinocaulis for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis