Amarantholidols and amarantholidosides: new nerolidol derivatives from the weed Amaranthus retroflexus

Seven new sesquiterpenes, with nerolidol skeleton, have been isolated and characterized from the plant Amaranthus retroflexus, one of the major weeds of the world. The structures have been elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. The compounds have been characterized by the presence of hydroxyl groups or a glucopyranosyl moiety in the molecules. The configurations have been determined using Mosher's method. The compounds have been tested for their phytotoxicity on the test species Lactuca sativa. The bioassays showed an inhibitory effect on seed germination for all of compounds at the lowest concentrations.