Phytotoxic cis-clerodane diterpenoids from the Chinese liverwort Scapania stephanii.

Five cis-clerodane diterpenoids, stephanialides A-E, along with seven known cis-clerodanes, scaparvins A-C, parvitexins B and C, 3-chloro-4-hydroxy-parvitexin A, and scapanialide B, were isolated from the Chinese liverwort Scapania stephanii. Their structures were established unequivocally on the basis of spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of stephanialide A was determined by analysis of CD data using the octant rule. Phytotoxic activity evaluation showed that this type of diterpenoids can significantly inhibit root elongation of the seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana, Lepidium sativum and Brassica pekinensis.