There is an urgent need for novel medicines in the treatment of infections and multi-drug
resistance. For centuries, plants have been widely used in folk medicine for their
medicinal benefits. Nature retains a large potential for novel compounds due to the
vast diversity and complexity of chemical structures found in natural sources. Based
on this, the overall aim of the project is isolation and structural characterisation
of bioactive polysaccharides and phenolic compounds from Nordic medicinal plants.
One important traditional Norwegian medicinal plant is Daphne mezereum L. (Thymelaeaceae). Despite its well-known toxicity, D. mezereum was used to treat ailments and diseases such as diarrhea, fever, and tuberculosis.
Both ethanol and hot water extract of D. mezereum have shown promising bioactivity, but little is known about the phytochemistry of
the plant. Hence, the focus of the present study was isolation and structural characterisation
of phenolic compounds from a hot water extract of the bark of D. mezereum. The compounds were isolated using reverse phase chromatography (Diaion HP-20 and
Sephadex LH-20), in addition to C-18 flash chromatography and preparative HPLC, all
with varying water:methanol ratio. The structures were elucidated using NMR and MS.
Isolated compounds included coumarins and flavonoids.
