Quinic acid esters and sesquiterpenes from Sonchus arvensis

A phytochemical study on the whole plant of Sonchus arvensis and its antioxidant activity has been carried out. Three quinic acid derivatives (1–3), the rarely naturally occurring (p-hydroxyphenylacetyl) quinic acids, and two eudesmanolides (4 and 5) were newly found. Four known eudesmanolides (6–9) were isolated from the plant for the first time. Their structures were characterized by HRESIMS, IR, UV, 1D NMR, and 2D NMR. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·)-scavenging activity was evaluated for each of the above 9 compounds (1–9) in comparison to standard antioxidants (caffeic acid and ascorbic acid). However, none proved to have a positive activity. The absence of antioxidant activity could be caused by the absence of ortho or para-diphenolic groups in all detected compounds, that are responsible of the activity against free radicals by an electron transfer reaction.