A new triterpenoid from Verbena officinalis L.

To investigate the chemical constituents of Verbena officinalis L., five triterpenoid constituents were isolated and elucidated as 3α,19,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, namely, 4-epi-barbinervic acid (1), 2α,3β-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (2), 3α,24-dihydroxyurs-12-en- 28-oic acid (3), 3α,24-dihydroxy-olean-12-en-28-oic acid (4), ursolic acid (5), using spectroscopic methods and comparing with published data. Compounds 2 and 4 were obtained from V. officinalis for the first time, and compound 1 is a new triterpenoid compound, which exhibits significantly higher antitumor activity against human hepatoma cell line Bel 7402 in vitro than the blank control.