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Ten sesquiterpene lactones, 8alpha-O-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methylenebutanoyloxy)sonchucarpolide (4-epi-malacitanolide) (1), 8alpha-O-(4-acetoxy-2-hydroxymethylbuten-2-oyloxy)-4-epi-sonchucarpolide (2), malacitanolide (3), its 4'-acetyl derivative (4), 8alpha-O-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methylenebutanoyloxy)dehydromelitensine (5), 8alpha-O-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methylenebutanoyloxy)-15-oxo-5,7alphaH,6betaH-eleman-1,3,11(13)-trien-6,12-olide (6), the germacranolides 8alpha-O-(4-acetoxy-2-hydroxymethylbuten-2-oyloxy)salonitenolide (7), cnicin (8), and 4'-acetylcnicin (9), and the sesquiterpene methyl 8alpha-O-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methylenebutanoyloxy)-6alpha,15-dihydroxyelema-1,3,11(13)-trien-12-oate (10), were isolated from the aerial parts of Centaurea spinosa. Nine known flavonoids were also isolated. The structures and the stereochemistry of the new compounds 1 and 2 were deduced by spectroscopic methods. The in vitro activity of 1-10 against three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria was evaluated using a microdilution method, and their in vitro cytotoxic activity was determined against a panel of human tumor cell lines.

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The volatile composition of two Eryngium species was studied. The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation in a modified Clevenger-type apparatus, and their analyses were performed by GC and GC-MS. A total of 58 different compounds were identified. Their main constituents were as follows: E. serbicum: germacrene D (19.7 %), E-elemene (10.0 %) and spathulenol (6.9 %); E. palmatum: sesquicineole (21.3 %), caryophyllene oxide (16.0 %), spathulenol (16.0 %) and sabinene (5.5 %). The main portion in both studied taxa consisted of sesquiterpenes.