A new feruloyl glyceride from the roots of Asian rice (Oryza sativa)

Oryza sativa L., Poaceae, is the most important staple food in the world and provides food for more than half of the world’s population. The roots of O. sativa have been used as a traditional medicine in Korea. As part of our continuing efforts to explore structurally new compounds from Korean natural resources, two feruloyl glycerides, 2-O-(E)-feruloyl glyceride (1) and 2-O-(Z)-feruloyl glyceride (2), which is a new compound, together with one known flavonoid, 8-hydroxyacacetin (3), were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the roots of O. sativa using an LC/MS-guided isolation method. The chemical structure of compound 2 was elucidated based on comprehensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic experiments and HR-ESIMS. This study represents the first report of feruloyl glycerides (1–2) identified in O. sativa. In addition, the identification of compound 3 is reported from Asian rice (O. sativa) for the first time. The cytotoxic activities of the isolates 1–3 were evaluated by determining their inhibitory effects on A2780 human ovarian carcinoma cells.