Abstract
FROM a light petroleum extract of dried petals of peony (Peonia albiflora Pall.) an oily substance (74.08 per cent C, 9.94 per cent H) was isolated by means of nitromethane extraction. It comprises 0.13 per cent of the dry weight of petals and 18 per cent of light petroleum extracts and shows in the ultraviolet spectral region maxima at 227 and 280 mµ—characteristic of pyrethrins1. Alkaline hydrolysis of this substance gives: chrysanthemic acid (oil, volatile in steam) and chrysanthemum dicarboxylic acid (m.p. 205–206°) in the ratio of 1 : 1. Paper chromatography in light petroleum saturated with methanol2extract of the compound investigated and of pyrethrins, isolated from Chrysanthemum cinerariefolium, as well as of the products of their hydrolysis (acids and rhetrolones), afforded a proof of the identity of both substances.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Gillam, A. E., and West, T. F., J. Chem. Soc., 673 (1942).
Quayle, J. R., Nature, 178, 375 (1956).
Armitage, R., Bayliss, G. S., Gramshaw, J. W., Haslam, E., Hamworth, R. D., Jones, K., Rogers, H. J., and Searle, T., J. Chem. Soc., 1842 (1961).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CHMIELEWSKA, I., KASPRZYK, Z. Pyrethrin and Gallotannin in the Flowers of Peony. Nature 196, 776 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/196776a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/196776a0
This article is cited by
-
“Pyrethrum” in Peonies
Nature (1967)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.