The chemical constituents of the n-hexane extract of Marchantia polymorpha L.

Introduction: Marchantia polymorpha belongs to the liverwort family. Marchantia species are known to possess diverse chemical constituents and bioactivities. As part of a chemically systematic study of liverworts, the isolation and structural elucidation of six compounds from Marchantia polymorpha were reported. Method: A dried powder of Marchantia polymorpha was macerated in methanol to prepare the crude extract. Then, the liquid–liquid partition method was applied to this extract to separate it into different polar extracts, including n-hexane, ethyl acetate extracts, and residue. The Sephadex LH-20 and silica gel column chromatography and recrystallization methods were used to isolate organic compounds. Their chemical structures were determined by usual techniques such as MS and NMR spectra interpretation in comparison with the experimentally spectroscopic data reported. Results: Six compounds consisting of marchantin G (1), quercetin (2), kaempferol (3), hexaconazole (4), indole-3-carboxylic acid (5), and sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6) were isolated. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, although all isolated compounds were known to be present in other species, they were reported from this species for the first time.