[Isolation and elucidation of chemical constituents of Shandanshaoyao Decoction(I)].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Shandanshaoyao Decoction. METHOD: The sample was prepared using boiling water, then precipitated by 75% ethanol. The ethanol soluble fraction was extracted by chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol respectively. The extracts were isolated using silica gel and polyamide column chromatography, and the chemical constituents were identified by chemical and spectroscopic methods. RESULT: Six compounds were isolated from the chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts, and elucidated as tanshinone IIA, benzoic acid, ferulic acid, cryptotanshinone, beta-stitosterol and ursolic acid respectively. CONCLUSION: A preliminary study on the chemical constituents in traditional Chinese compound recipe Shandanshaoyao Decoction is reported.