Phytochemical investigations of Vernonia galamensis seeds

Vernonia galamensis is a new potential industrial oil seed crop for semiarid areas with very high content of naturally epoxidized vernolic acid (80% of the oil). Chemical investigation of the seeds of Vernonia galamensis afforded two compounds, which are vernolic acid derivatives. Their structures were established by various spectroscopic techniques: IR, UV, NMR, and 2D NMR spectra (COSY, HSQC, and HMBC), and by comparison with literature data for the known compound methylvernolate. The cis-(12S,13R)-(3-methylpentyl) vernolate (1) and the cis-(12S,13R)-(2,3-propanediol) vernolate (2) were isolated and characterized. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.