A new compound from Senecio cannabifolius var integrilifolius

Senecio cannabifolius var integrilifolius (Compositae), locally known as “Fanhuncao” in China, is a folk herb used for the treatment of pneumonia, virus influenza and bronchitis. To investigate the chemical constituents of this herb, water extract of the aerial parts was subjected to various chromatography on normal/reversed phase silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column. Eleven compounds were obtained and identified on the basis of their physicochemical properties and spectroscopic analysis as senecine (1), p-hydroxy-benzeneacetic acid (2), protocatechuic acid (3), 2,5-dihydroxy-benzeneacetic acid (4), 3,4-dihydroxy-benzeneacetic acid (5), vanillic acid (6), caffic acid (7), succinic acid (8), 2-furoic acid (9), 1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-jacaranone (10), and 4-(pyrrolidin-2-one)-phenylacetic acid (11). Compound 1 was structurally identified to be a new compound; the other compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time.