Chemical studies of Chinese licorice-roots. I. Elucidation of five new flavonoid constituents from the roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. collected in Xinjiang.

From the air-dried roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Leguminosae) collected in Xinjiang province, China ("Shinkyo-Kanzo" in Japanese), five new flavonoid compounds named glucoliquiritin apioside (1) (a flavonone bisdesmoside), prenyllicoflavone A (5) (a bisprenylflavone), shinflavone (7) (a prenylated pyranoflavanone), shinpterocarpin (9) and 1-methoxyphaseollin (12) (both pyranopterocarpans), were isolated together with eight known saponins, seven known flavonoid glycosides, and eleven flavonoids. The structures of the new compounds have been elucidated on the basis of their chemical and physicochemical properties.