Chemical constituents isolated from the roots and rhizomes of Smilacina japonica

Phytochemical investigation of the roots and rhizomes of Smilacina japonica A. Gray led to the isolation of 16 compounds, including six steroidal saponins (1-6), one amide (7), one fatty alcohol (8), one steroidal sapogenin (9), two flavones (10-11), one glycoside (12), one phenol (13), one aliphatic acid (14), and two sterols (15-16). All of these compounds were isolated for the first time from the roots and rhizomes of S. japonica while compounds 1-13 were identified for the first time from the genus Smilacina, of which compounds 9, 11, and 13 were isolated from the Liliaceae family for the first time. Furthermore, the isolation of compound 9 was reported for the first time in plants. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic methods and compared previously published data. The chemotaxonomic significance of these isolated compounds has also been discussed.