Atlanticol, an epoxybicyclogermacrenol from the liverwort Plagiochila atlantica F. Rose

The proton NMR fingerprints of the CDCl3 extracts of small quantities of se ven specimens of the liverwort Plagiochila atlantica from Scotland and Engl and are very similar and are dominated by the spectrum of the 2,3-secoaroma dendrane plagiochiline C. Atlanticol, a new epoxybicyclogermacrenol, was pr esent in all the extracts to the extent of ca. 10% of plagiochiline C and w as isolated using TLC. Characterisation and structural elucidation by means of NMR, GC/GC-MS and HREI land CI) MS showed that atlanticol is (1R*,2R*,3 S*,4E,6S*,7S*,10S*)-3,14-diacetoxy-1,10-epoxybicyclogermacr-4-en-2-ol. The secondary metabolites of P. atlantica are characteristically different from those of P. spinulosa, the liverwort with which P. atlantica has most ofte n been confused. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.