Abstract
Eight species of the genus Helichrysum, all of them endemic to Madagascar, were analyzed for lipophilic phenolic constituents deposited on the surfaces of leaves and stems. A total of 35 compounds was isolated and identified by spectroscopic means. Chalcones (10) comprised the largest group of compounds encountered, followed by flavonols (8), flavanones (7), flavones (4), benzophenones (3) and phloroglucinol derivatives (3). Many of the flavonoids were characterized by unsubstituted B-rings and/or C- or O-bound prenyl or neryl substituents. The Helichrysum species analyzed in this study are very similar to African species of this genus with regard to their lipophilic phenolic constituents. The phenolic com pounds studied thus appear to be conservative chemical characters of Helichrysum that were retained more or less unchanged during the origin of endemic taxa in Madagascar.
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