Antioxidants and α-glucosidase inhibitors from "Liucha" (young leaves and shoots of Sibiraea laevigata).

The young leaves and shoots of Sibiraea laevigata, known as "Liucha", are used as tea by Tibetans to improve digestion after meals. Long-term consumption of "Liucha" will cause weight loss. In present work, we reported on the isolation and NMR and chemical analysis-based elucidation of seven new sorbitol O-caffeic acid ester derivatives named sorbitol esters A-G (1-7) and eighteen known phenolic compounds from S. laevigata. All of the isolates were evaluated for their antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Among them sorbitol ester A (1), sorbitol ester D (4), sorbitol ester F (6), sorbitol ester G (7), isoferulic acid (15), methyl caffeate (18), trans-p-hydroxycinnamic acid (19), and kaempferol 3-O-β-d-(6″-E-p-coumaroyl)-glucopyranoside (25) showed more potent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity than the clinical drug acarbose.