Chemical constituents of Chinese natural medicine, morindae radix, the dried roots of morinda officinalis how.: structures of morindolide and morofficinaloside.

A new iridoid lactone, morindolide, and a new iridoid glucoside, morofficinaloside, have been isolated from a Chinese natural medicine, Morindae Radix, the dried root of Morinda officinalis How. together with a number of known compounds: five anthraquinones, four iridoid glucosides, a monoterpene glycoside, two sterols, an ursane-type triterpene, and a lactone compound. The chemical structures of the new compounds were determined on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence.