Lignans and indole alkaloids from the seeds of <i>Centaurea vlachorum</i> Hartvig (Asteraceae), growing wild in Albania and their biological activity

<p>The present phytochemical investigation of the seeds of <i>Centaurea vlachorum</i> led to the isolation and characterisation of four compounds including two indole alkaloids N-(p-coumaroyl) serotonin (<b>1</b>) and moschamine (<b>2</b>) and two dibenzylbutyrolactone lignans matairesinol (<b>3</b>) and arctiin (<b>4</b>). This is the first report on the isolation of non-volatile secondary metabolites from <i>C. vlachorum.</i> The chemataxonomic significance of these compounds was summarised. Moreover, the isolated compounds were tested for their free radical scavenging activity using the following <i>in vitro</i> assays: (i) interaction with the free stable radical of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), (ii) inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation with the dihydrochloric acid of 2,2-Azobis-2-amidinopropane (AAPH). Finally, their inhibitory activity towards soybean lipoxygenase was evaluated, using linoleic acid as substrate.</p