Sesquiterpene lactones of Centaurea scoparia.

From the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of Centaurea scoparia four new sesquiterpene lactones, belonging to the guaiane class, were isolated and identified, together with a known germacranolide. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including one- and two-dimensional NMR studies. The relative configuration was deduced from the 2D NOESY spectra. CD spectroscopy of the chlorinated compounds was used for determination of their absolute configuration.