Flavanones from the rhizomes of Boesenbergia pandurata

Abstract

Boesenbergia pandurata (Roxb.) Schltr. is a perennial medicinal herb belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. It is cultivated in some tropical countries in Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia. In Vietnam, it is known as "Ngai bun", and the fresh rhizomes are mainly used as a spice. This plant contains prenylated chalcones and other flavonoids as the major bioactive constituents. From the CHCl3 extract of Boesenbergia pandurata, we had isolated six flavanones. Their structures, pinocembrin (1), pinostrobin (2), alpinetin (3), di-O-methylpinocembrin (4), naringenin (5) and 5-O-methylnaringenin (6), were determined based on extensive spectroscopic analysis and in comparison with previous works.