Abstract
From the methanol extract of the bark of Magnolia obovata THUNB. (Magnoliaceae), a new phenolic compound, honokiol (VI), mp 87.5°, was isolated along with cryptomeridiol (XI). VI was a position isomer of magnolol (I) which was isolated previously from the bark of this species. Structure of VI was established as 3, 5'-diallyl-4, 2'-dihydroxy-biphenyl. Phenylpropanoids which possess oxygen at position ortho to the allyl or propenyl side chain, as in VI, are scarcely found in nature. Biogenetically, XI is related closely to eudesmols which are main components of the essential oil of this bark.
