Chemical constituents from Chimaphila japonica Miq. and their chemotaxonomic significance

A phytochemical study of the whole plant of Chimaphila japonica Miq. led to the isolation of 20 compounds, including ten terpenoids (1-11), seven sugars (12-17), two phenols (18-19), and one fatty acid (20). The structures of these isolated compounds were identified using NMR spectroscopy (1H and 13C) by comparison with previously reported data. To the best of our knowledge, compounds 1 and 19 were first reported from C. japonica; compounds 2-4, 10, and 12-14 were obtained from the genus Chimaphila for the first time, while compounds 6-9, 11, 15-17, and 20 have never been isolated from the Ericaceae family. Chemotaxonomic studies have shown that C. japonica is closely related to C. umbellata, and that the genus Chimaphila may be closely related to the genera Gaultheria, Vaccinium, Lyonia, Pyrola, and Rhododendron.