Chemical constituents of dichloromethane extract from the stems of Ephedra intermedia

Ten compounds were isolated and purified from the dichloromethane extract of stems of Ephedra intermedia by various chromatographic methods. Based on the analysis of physicochemical properties and spectral data, the structures of the ten compounds were identified as 1-allyl-3, 4-dimethoxy-benzene-5-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), lyoniresinol (2), secoisolariciresinol (3), 4, 3′, 4′-trihydroxy-3-methoxylignan-9, 9′-diyldiacetate (4), dehydroconiferyl alcohol (5), isocubebin (6), balanophonin B (7), sesquipinsapol B (8), crataegifin A (9), 1-(2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-(hydroxymethyl)-7-methoxy-2, 3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)ethan-1-one (10). Compound 1 is a new compound, named as 1-allyl-3, 4-dimethhoxy-benzene-5-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl, compounds 2-10 are lignans and isolated from this plant for the first time. Compound 3, 4, 8 possess potentially anti-asthmatic activities.