Coumarins and other components of Daphne oleoides Schreb. subsp. oleoides from Majella National Park

Abstract The present study reports about the phytochemical analysis of a sample of Daphne oleoides Schreb. subsp. oleoides (family Thymelaeaceae) collected from the Majella National Park. Twenty components, belonging to different classes of natural products, have been identified by means of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques: [monomeric ( 4 ), bis- ( 5 , 7 – 10 , 20 ) and trimeric coumarins ( 11 ), including aglycones and glycosides, coumarinolignoid ( 6 ); flavonoids ( 16 – 19 ); glycosidic furolignans ( 14 , 15 ), glucosidic phenylpropanoids ( 12 , 13 ), cyclic tetrapyrrole derivatives ( 2 , 3 ), unsaturated triglyceride ( 1 )]. Besides the chemosystematic markers of the genus ( 4 – 10 , 12 , 14 – 18 , 20 ) several other components were identified for the first time in the species ( 17 , 20 ) and/or in the Daphne genus ( 1 – 3 , 13 , 19 ). The observed composition was discussed from the chemotaxonomic standpoint and compared with those recognized from a Sardinian accession. It was observed a pronounced difference in the two metabolites patterns, most probably attributable to geographic isolation of the studied populations and, in some extent, also by the different environmental conditions, evidencing a possible tendency of D. oleoides to the infraspecific chemovariability. Considering the wide traditional uses of Daphne spp. in ethnomedicine of several countries, also the pharmacologic potential of the identified secondary metabolites is discussed.