Flavonoids in the poisonous plant Oxytropis falcata.

Three new flavonoids, oxytropisoflavans A (1) and B (2) and (6aR,11aR)-3,8-dihydroxy-9,10-dimethoxypterocarpan (3), together with 30 known flavonoids (4-33), were isolated from the aerial parts and roots of Oxytropis falcata. The absolute configurations of 3 and C-3 in 1 and 2 were deduced by circular dichroism. The structure of flavonoid 2 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and that of flavonoid 3 by total synthesis of its racemate. Oxytropisoflavan A (1) is an unprecedented chalcan-isoflavan biflavonoid, whereas oxytropisoflavan B (2) possesses a rare modified A-ring. Pterocarpan 3 has good radical-scavenging activity in the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay.