Structural Elucidation of a New Aromatic Metabolite from Melilotus Neapolitana and its Potential Allelopathic Effect on Wild Species

Abstract

From the ethereal extract of Melilotus neapolitana Ten., an herbaceous plant living in the Mediterranean macchia, a new aromatic metabolite was isolated. The structure 1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)2-(4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)1,3-propandiol, was elucidated on the basis of its mass spectrum and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data (DQ-COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC). The relative configuration was determined from NOESY/ROESY experiments and computational calculations. The compound was tested for its potential allelopathic effect on two wild plant species living in the same habitat as M. neapolitana.

Potential allelopathic interferenceofMelilotus neapolitanametabolites on three coexisting species of Mediterranean herbaceous plant community

“…The separation processes brought to the pure metabolites (Figure 2), which have been identified on the basis The most abundant compound present in the mixture was identified as coumarin (1), isolated together with their glucoside precursors cis-melilotoside (2), trans-melilotoside (3), and dihydromelilotoside (4). Compound 5 is an aromatic metabolite isolated for the first time from M. neapolitana (Fiorentino et al 2007a). Compounds 6 Á 12 were identified as flavone glycosides characterized by kaempferol (6Á8), quercetin (9, 10) and isorhamnetin (11, 12) as aglicones.…”

Phytotoxic Chlorophyll Derivatives from Petrorhagia velutina (Guss.) Ball et Heyw Leaves

“…In the search for bioactive natural products from Mediterranean spontaneous plants and weeds, many phytotoxic compounds have been isolated and characterized [1][2][3][4]. In the present study on leaves of P. velutina, a new pheophorbide, in addition to nine other chlorophyll derivatives were isolated (Figure 1).…”