Secondary metabolites from endemic species Iris adriatica Trinajstić ex Mitić (Iridaceae)

This manuscript describes the first detailed chemical investigation of endemic species Iris adriatica, including isolation and structure elucidation. Chemical analyses of the rhizome CH₂Cl₂/MeOH (2:1) extract revealed fourteen secondary metabolites, mainly isoflavonoids. Among isoflavonoids, two groups have been found: nigricin-type and tectorigenin-type. Dominant group of the isolated compounds has been nigricin-type isoflavones: nigricin, nigricin-4'-(1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside) and nigricin-4'-(1-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl (1-6)-β-D-glucopyranoside) with 2.5, 10 and 1% of the total extract, respectively. Irisxanthone - xanthone C-glucoside, β-sitosterol, benzophenone and one of its derivatives have also been found. Nigricin-type isoflavonoids and irisxanthone can be considered as possible chemotaxonomic markers for I. adriatica. 5,3',5'-Trimethoxy-6,7-methylenedioxyisoflavone-4'-(1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside) and benzophenone have been isolated from Iris species for the first time.