BACKGROUND
Swertia punicea Hemsl. (Gentianaceae) is more commonly known as "Ganyan-cao" and used mainly as a traditional Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of acute bilious hepatitis, cholecystitis, fever, intoxification and jaundice.
METHODS
The active hepatoprotective constituents of Swertia
Phytochemical investigation of the CHCl3 fraction of Swertia corymbosa resulted in the isolation of a new 3-allyl-2,8-dihydroxy-1,6-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one (1), along with four known xanthones, gentiacaulein (3), norswertianin (4), 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxyxanthone (5), and 1,3-dihydroxyxanthone (6).