Chemical constituents from the immature buds of Cinnamomum cassia (Lauraceae)

Phytochemical investigations on the immature buds of Cinnamomum cassia (cassia buds) led to the isolation of fifteen compounds, including two phenylmethanol glycosides (1 and 2), two phenylethyl glycosides (3–5), two butanol glycosides (6 and 7), a megastigmane sesquiterpenoid (8), a pair of isomeric monoterpenoids (9) and their glycosides (10), a monoterpenoid glycoside (11), a geraniol type monoterpenoid (12), two phenolic glycosides (13 and 14), and cinnamic acid (15). Their structures were identified by spectroscopic analyses and comparison with literature data. Compounds 1, 2, and 4–13 were isolated from Cinnamomum cassia for the first time, and compounds 1, 2, 4–7, and 9–11 were reported in the Lauraceae family for the first time. The chemotaxonomic significance of these compounds was discussed.