A new sesquiterpene-coumarin ether and a new abietane diterpene and their effects as inhibitors of P-glycoprotein.

A new sesquiterpene-coumarin ether (5'beta,9'alpha,10'alpha)-7-0-(3alpha-methoxy-8'(12')-drimen-11'-yl)-scopoletin, designated driportlandin (1) and a new abietane quinoid diterpene 16-hydroxy-abieta-8,12-diene-11,14-dione, named portlanquinol (2) together with lupeol, nepehinol, wrightial, formonetin and davidigenin were isolated and characterized from the Me2CO extract of whole dried plant of Euphorbia portlandica. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated from spectral data including 2D-NMR experiments of COSY, HMQC, HMBC and NOESY. When examined for their effects on the reversal of multidrug resistance(MDR) on mouse lymphoma cells, compound 1 proved to be more active than the positive control verapamil and compound 2 was found to be toxic. This is the first report on the isolation of a sesquiterpene-coumarin and a quinoid-type diterpenoid from Euphorbia.