Flavonoids from elicitor-treated cell suspension cultures of Cephalocereus senilis

Two new flavonoid glycosides, 6,7-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavone 7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside and (2S)-6,7-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavanone 7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, together with two known compounds baicalein and baicalein 7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, were isolated from chitin-elicited cell suspension cultures of Cephalocereus senilis. All structures, which were established by spectroscopic methods as well as chemical modifications, share the same unusual substitution pattern of the aurone previously described from the same culture. Each has an unsubstituted B-ring and 5,6,7-oxygenation in the A-ring, thus suggesting that a novel cinnamate:CoA ligase may be functional under these circumstances.