Bioactive gentixanthone and gentichromone from the whole plants of Gentianella acuta (Michx.) Hulten.

Five new compounds, gentixanthones A1 (1), A2 (2), and gentichromones A1-A3 (3-5), together with thirteen known xanthones (6-18) were obtained from the whole plants of Gentianella acuta (Michx.) Hulten. Their structures were elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic methods. Among them, compounds 6, 8, 13, 14, and 17 were obtained from Gentianella genus firstly, and 7, 12, 15, 16, and 18 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Meanwhile, inhibitory effects of 1-18 on motility of mouse isolated intestine tissue were determined. As results, xanthones 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 14 were found to have significant reduce effect on intestine contraction tension, and structure-activity relationship was discussed.