Chemical studies on the roots of Uvaria welwitschii

A chemical investigation of the chloroform extract of the roots of Uvaria welwitschii (Annonaceae), an African traditional medicine taken for stomach ache, led to the isolation of eight new compounds, named welwitschins A–H (1–8), together with five known compounds (9–13). The structural elucidation by spectroscopic studies of the compounds isolated is described. All new compounds were flavonoids having a 2-hydroxy-3,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl moiety in the A-ring, and unsubstituted phenyl in the B-ring. Four of them (1–4) were monomeric flavonoids while the others (5–8) were dimeric flavonoids. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds against human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells was investigated.