Flavones and phenylpropanoids from a sedative extract of Lantana trifolia L.

The flavone glycosides, named scutellarein-7-O-beta-D-apiofuranoside and apigenin-7-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-apiofuranoside, and the flavone celtidifoline (5,6,4',5'-tetrahydroxy-7,3'-dimethoxyflavone), along with other 11 known compounds, were isolated from leaves of the ethyl acetate extract of Lantana trifolia L. using step gradient High Speed Countercurrent Chromatography (HSCCC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), respectively. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including 2D NMR and mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) techniques. The ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts produced an intense sedative effect in mice, one hour after oral administration of 1 mg/kg. This effect was neither due to a benzodiazepine-like effect of the three flavone derivatives neither of the phenylpropanoids, betonyoside F and verbascoside, that were tested for their affinity for the [3H] flunitrazepam binding sites.