Abstract
The roots of the South American vine Herreria montevidensis Klotzsch ex Griseb. (Herreriaceae) are used in traditional medicine by several Amerindian groups of the Paraguayan Chaco. Little is known on the chemistry of the plant, despite its widespread use across the South American Chaco. From the ethyl acetate/methanol 1:1 extract of the roots, four new and one known homoisoflavanoid, two flavan derivatives, a stilbene, a new alkaloid, and three new and four known spirostane steroids were isolated. The corresponding structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and spectrometric means. The homoisoflavonoids of the plant are related to compounds isolated from the Dracaenaceae (formerly Agavaceae) sources of the Chinese crude drug Dragon’s Blood. The new alkaloid is a novel skeleton that can be used as a chemical marker of Herreria. The spirostane steroids suggest chemotaxonomic relations with the Liliales. This is the first comprehensive report on the chemistry of a South American Herreria species.
Highlights
The vine Herreria montevidensis Klotzsch ex Griseb. is abundant in the Chaco domains of South America. It is used in traditional medicine by many Amerindian groups of the Paraguayan Chaco
The Lengua-Maskoy use the mashed roots of H. montevidensis as an additive to mate, a traditional drink prepared with cold water [2]
The chemical diversity found in the H. montevidensis roots from the Paraguayan Chaco suggests the potential of the crude drug constituents as bioactive agents
Summary
The vine Herreria montevidensis Klotzsch ex Griseb. (family Herreriaceae) is abundant in the Chaco domains of South America. Species of Herreria and the closely related Smilax are widely used in Brazilian popular medicine as a sudorific and to treat skin diseases, gout, rheumatism and syphilis [4]. H. salsaparilha and Smilax spp. are known as “salsaparilla” or “salsaparrilha” and are used for the same purposes by the Paraguayan and Brazilian country-dwellers living in the Chaco and Brazilian Pantanal. Despite this widespread use, little is known on the chemistry of the South American genus Herreria (Herreriaceae). Occurrence of steroidal saponins in the roots of H. montevidensis [6], these saponins were neither isolated of nor identified.
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