Some Constituents of the Resins of Xanthorrhoea preissii, australis and hastile

Abstract

Examination of the above resins has revealed the presence apart from polymeric material of a number of hydroxy- and methoxy-flavanone derivatives, some derivatives of 2-methyl-2,3-dihydronaphtho-[1,8-bc]pyran-5-ol (1), C₆C₃ derivatives such as cinnamyl alcohol and p-coumaric acid, and chrysophanic acid. The inflorescence of X. australis contains no flavonoids, but p-coumaric acid, chryso- phanic acid and aloeemodin. Two dimeric flavonoids are isolable from X. preissii. Reported occurrences of compounds in all Xanthorrhoea resins are summarized and some of the implications discussed. The 'red' and 'yellow' resins differ markedly; X. hastile contains no naphthopyran derivatives and the resin is chiefly a polymer. Despite the large number of compounds reported (Table 1) only a small proportion of the resins has been accounted for as isolated pure substances.