Study on the molecular composition of an indigenous Italian species. Coristospermum cuneifolium (Guss.) Bertol

In this work, the first complete phytochemical analysis of an Italian native species called Coristospermum cuneifolium (Guss.) Bertol. [previously classified as Ligusticum lucidum Mill. subsp. cuneifolium (Guss.) Tammaro)], is reported. Both the polar and the less polar compounds were investigated and this was performed by means of chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. This study allowed the isolation and the identification of eleven constituents, with chemosystematic and pharmacologic relevance, belonging to different classes of natural products. In particular, these were rutin (1), vervenone-5-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), vervenone-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), siphonoside (4), chlorogenic acid (5), quinic acid (6), (8S,9R)-9-acetoxy-8-O-isovaleroyl-8,9-dihydrooroselol (7), peucenidin (8), oxypeucedanin (9), 7-hydroxycoumarin (10) and pheophorbide A ethyl ester (11). The chemotaxonomic markers of the family were recognized together with compounds resulted to be new phytochemicals for the genus or with a limited distribution in Apiaceae. These constituents may be considered as further taxonomic markers for classification of the Apioideae subfamily. The presence of these metabolites also permitted to provide a phytochemical rationale for the use of Ligusticum s.l. in traditional medicine and proved that also C. cuneifolium has a potential in medicine field as well, since cytotoxic components, that might represent a further specific pharmacological property, were recognized.