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Elucidating the Structure and Identity of Pinckneyin, a Historical Natural Product from Pinckneya bracteata
Mya A Collins1, Allison M Lucas1, Fisher L Rodgers1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
Abstract:
Pinckneya bracteata (Georgia bark) was historically used in the southeastern United States to treat intermittent fevers and has long been believed to contain quinine. In 1885, a bitter crystalline substance termed pinckneyin was isolated, but its structure remained unknown. Reproduction of the original extraction procedure combined with modern spectroscopic and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis definitively identifies pinckneyin as 7-hydroxycoumarin (umbelliferone). This work resolves a long-standing ambiguity in the phytochemical literature and clarifies the chemical basis for reassessing the historical medicinal use of P. bracteata.
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