Aliphatic nitro compounds from Astragalus species

Abstract

Miserotoxin, the poisonous constituent of Astragalus miser, has been shown to be 3-nitro-1-propyl β- d-glucopyranoside. From A. cibarius, 3-nitropropanoic acid was the major isolate from an ethanol extraction, but a diester of 3-nitropropanoic acid with glucose was the major product from an acetone extraction. From a small plant sample of A. curvicarpus, 3-nitropropanoic acid and KNO 3 were isolated. Minor non-nitro compounds were also isolated from A. cibarius, including (for the first reported time as a natural product) N, N-dimethylformamide.