Abietane-type diterpenoids from the roots of Salvia tebesana

Abstract

<strong>Background and objectives:</strong> The genus <em>Salvia </em>is one of the largest genera in the family Lamiaceae and represents approximately 1000 species displaying a remarkable diversity.<em>Salvia tebesana </em>Bunge(Lamiaceae) is an endemic medicinal species that grows wild in center of Iran which is locally named “<em>Maryamgoli Tabasi</em>". <strong>Methods:</strong> The dried roots (2 kg) were perculated with MeOH at room temperature. Methanol extract was further fractionated to give four different fractions [<em>n</em>-hexane, dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂), ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and water (H2O)]. In the next step, to afford the major bioactive compound(s) of the plant, the EtOAC extract was further sub-fractionated by silica gel column chromatography using a mixture of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate with increasing polarity. The different fractions were purified by reversed-phase semi-preparative HPLC. <strong>Results:</strong> From the ethyl acetate extract, two diterpene quinones with rearranged abietane skeletons, aegyptinones A and B were isolated and their structures were mainly elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopy. <strong>Conclusion</strong>: These compounds have been reported for the first time from this plant.