Chemical constituents and antibacterial activities of Aspidistra typica

In the present investigation, we carried a phytochemical study of an ethanol-soluble extract from the root barks of Aspidistra typica Baill., a traditional food and herb medicine, leading to the isolation of four different kinds of compounds, including one benzene substituted coumarin, two organic phosphonic compounds, and one xanthone. The novel benzene substituted coumarin typicacoumarin A (1) was a new type of coumarin, and the two new organic phosphonic compounds, typicalphosphine A (2) and typicalphosphine B (3) were isolated for the first time, and their structures were elucidated by spectral techniques, viz.1D, 2D NMR spectra and HR-ESI-MS. The xanthone compound typicaxanthone A (4) was discovered from nature for the first time. The two new organic phosphonic chlorides (2, 3) showed stronger antibacterial activities, which were comparable to berberine hydrochloride. And typicaxanthone A (4) showed much stronger antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli ATCC-25922 bacterial strain, while typicacoumarin A (1) showed moderate antibacterial activities, weaker than berberine hydrochloride.