RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To isolate and determine the chemical constituents of Ranunculus japonicus in Liupan Mountain, Ningxia province, China. METHOD: The herb was extracted with ethanol by ultrasonic bath. The extractives were divided to petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol parts. The first two parts were separated and purified with silica gel and Sephadex LH -20 column chromatography. The structures of the separated compounds were idnetefied by physical and chemical properties and spectral analysis. RESULT: Nine compounds were isolated and identified as follows: scoparone (1), tricin (2), protocatechuic acid (3), luteolin (4), anemonin (5), scopoletin (6), 5-hydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxyflavone (7), ternatolide (8), 5-hydroxy-7, 8-dimethoxy-flavone (9). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1-9 were isolated from Ranunculus japonicus for the first time.