Isolation and Crystal Structure of Xanthones from Swertia Chirayita

In order to study the relationship between biological and pharmacological activities with their structures, a series of tri- and tetra-oxygenated xanthones including 1-hydroxyl-2,3,4,7- tetramethoxy xanthone 1, 1-hydroxyl-2,3,4,5-tetramethoxyl xanthone 2, 1-hydroxyl-3,5-dimethoxy- xanthone 3, 1,8-dihydroxyl-3,5-dimethoxyl xanthone 4 and 1,5,8-trihydroxyl-3-methoxy xanthone 5 have been isolated from Swertia chirayita. Their structures were established on the basis of spectral and chemical evidences. The crystal structure of 5 was also investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. It crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group Pī with a = 7.1540(10), b = 7.520(2), c = 10.671(2) (A), V = 562.7(2) (A)3 , α = 86.50(3), β = 80.06(3) , γ = 85.00(3)°, Z = 2, Dc = 1.618 g/m3, R = 0.0405, wR = 0.1028 and F(000) = 284. The molecular structure of 5 is nearly planar and four substituents are much closer to the plane. Compound 5 contains three intermolecular hydro- gen bonds. A recent study shows that phenolic hydroxyls in xanthones are the main active groups capable of scavenging ·OH and O2·.