1H and DOSY NMR spectroscopy analysis of Ligusticum porteri rhizome extracts

The presence of dimeric phthalides and other constituents in extracts of the vegetal species Ligusticum porteri was established by NMR spectroscopy. In comparative qualitative 1H NMR analyses of acetone extracts of rhizomes from fresh and dried L. porteri samples, we found that the dimeric phthalides tokinolide B (3), diligustilide (4) and riligustilide (5) were naturally produced by the plant and not post-harvest products. We also obtained DOSY 1H NMR data that provided both virtual separation and structural information for the phthalides present in a dry acetone extract of L. porteri. In addition, we developed a protocol for the quantification of dimeric phthalides, which is performed by calculating the relative ratio of the peak area of selected proton signals for some compounds with respect to the known signal of the internal standard, 4-dimethylaminopyridine. The protocol allows the rapid and direct quantification of dimeric phthalides and others constituents in fresh L. porteri rhizomes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.