Resveratrol trimers from seed cake of Paeonia rockii

In the course of screening natural products for antibacterial activities, a total acetone extract of the seed cake of Paeonia rockii showed significant effects against bacterial strains. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the EtOAc-soluble fraction of the total acetone extract resulted in the isolation and identification of five resveratrol trimers, including rockiiol C (1), gnetin H (2), suffruticosol A (3), suffruticosol B (4) and suffruticosol C (5). The relative configuration of these compounds was elucidated mainly by comprehensive 1D and 2D-NMR experiments. Compound 1 was a new compound. All isolated compounds exhibited strong antibacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria.