Abietane and nor-abitane diterpenoids from the roots of Salvia rhytidea

BACKGROUND The genus Salvia is a rich source of structurally diverse terpenoids. Different species of the Salvia have been used in folk medicine of Iran and therefore attracted the attention of researchers for exploring their chemical constituents. In a project directed at structurally interesting bioactive metabolites from Iranian Lamiaceae, we studied Salvia rhytidea. RESULTS Fractionation of the petroleum ether extract of the root of S. rhytidea led to the isolation of a new 20-nor-abietane diterpenoid (1), together with seven known compounds, comprising five abietane diterpenoids (2-6), and two rearranged abietanes (7, 8). Their structures were established by a combination of 1D and 2D NMR. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that the root of S. rhytidea could be considered as a new and rich source of different types of abietane and rearranged abietane diterpenoids.