Zanthoxylum schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc. (Rutaceae), a dioecious shrub with hooked prickly branches, has been used as folk medicine for the treatment of the common cold, stomach ache, diarrhea, and jaundice in China, Korea, and Japan. In our phytochemical investigations on this genus, a new megastigmane sesquiterpenoid, which is referred to as schinifolenol A (1), was isolated from Z. schinifolium. The stereochemistry was characterized via the analyses of extensive spectra. The absolute configuration was established by the application of a modified Mosher's experiment and assisted by a time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) on calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Bioactivity screenings showed that compound 1 exhibited a safe hypotoxicity and a better selectivity on anti-Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpes virus (KSHV).
Keywords: Kaposi’s sarcoma associated herpes virus; megastigmane; sesquiterpenoid; zanthoxylum schinifolium.