[Stomachic principles in ginger. II. Pungent and anti-ulcer effects of low polar constituents isolated from ginger, the dried rhizoma of Zingiber officinale Roscoe cultivated in Taiwan. The absolute stereostructure of a new diarylheptanoid]

By using the effects on HCl/ethanol-induced gastric lesions in rats, beta-sesquiphellandrene (2), beta-bisabolene (3), ar-curcumene (4) and 6-shogaol (5) were isolated as anti-ulcer active principles in ginger, the dried rhizoma of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Shokyo in Japanese) which was cultivated in Taiwan, together with nine known compounds and a new diarylheptanoid. The absolute stereostructure of the diarylheptanoid was characterized as (3S,5S)-dihydroxy 1-(4'-hydroxy-3',5'-dimethoxyphenyl)-7-(4''-hydrox y-3''-methoxyphenyl)heptane (15) on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence which included the application of the benzoate chirality method. The pungent effects of several constituents isolated from ginger were examined.