X-ray crystal structure and antioxidant activity of salidroside, a phenylethanoid glycoside.

The X-ray single-crystal structure of natural salidroside (=2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl beta-D-glucopyranoside; 1), isolated from Cistanche deserticola, is reported for the first time, as well as its absolute configuration. The radical-scavenging activity of 1 towards the superoxide radical anion (O*2-) was determined experimentally by chemiluminescence measurements of the pyrogallol-luminol system, and compared to that of the corresponding aglycone, i.e., tyrosol (=4-(2-hydroxyethyl)phenol; 2).