Phenolic compounds from the flowers of Nepalese medicinal plant Aconogonon molle and their DPPH free radical-scavenging activities

Eleven phenolic compounds, quercetin (1), quercetin 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (2), quercetin 3-O-(6"-O-galloyl)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (3), quercetin 3-O-(6"-O-caffeoyl)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (4), quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (5), rutin (6) quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (7), quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranoside (8), protocatechulic acid (9), gallic acid (10) and chlorogenic acid (11), were isolated from the flowers of Aconogonon molle, a Nepalese medicinal plant. Structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. All these compounds were isolated for the first time from flowers, and five compounds (4, 5, 8, 9 and 11) were isolated for the first time from A. molle. All of these isolated compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity by using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging method. Quercetin (1), quercetin glycosides (2-8) and gallic acid (10) exhibited potent antioxidant activity.