Chemical constituents from the leaves of Boehmeria rugulosa with antidiabetic and antimicrobial activities.

Three new flavonoid glycosides, named chalcone-6'-hydroxy-2',3,4-trimethoxy-4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), isoflavone-3',4',5,6-tetrahydroxy-7-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside] (2), and isoflavone-3',4',5,6-tetrahydroxy-7-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside] (3), were isolated from the leaves of Boehmeria rugulosa, together with five known compounds, beta-sitosterol, quercetin, 3,4-dimethoxy-omega-(2'-piperidyl)-acetophenone (4), boehmeriasin A (5), and quercetin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by means of chemical and spectral data including 2D NMR experiments. The ethanolic extract of leaves showed significant hypoglycemic activity on alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Glibenclamide, an oral hypoglycemic agent (5 mg/kg, p.o.), was used as a positive control. The ethanolic extract of the plant as well as the isolated compounds 1-3 (25 microg/ml) showed potent antimicrobial activity against two bacterial species (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans) and three fungus pathogens (Microsporum gypseum, Microsporum canis, and Trichophyton rubrum). The activities of the isolated compounds 1-3 have been compared with positive controls, novobiocin, and erythromycin (15 microg/ml).