Isolation of new eremophilane-type sesquiterpenoids, subspicatins A–D and subspicatolide from Ligularia subspicata, and chemical and genetic diversity of the species

New C-1 oxidized eremophilane-type sesquiterpenoids, subspicatins A, B, C, and D, and subspicatolide, were isolated from the root of Ligularia subspicata and their structures were established by spectroscopic and X-ray analyses. Subspicatins A and B were the major components. The species were found to be diverse both in the composition of the root chemicals and in the nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the ribosomal RNA gene and the atpB-rbcL intergenic region, but the difference among the samples was not distinct but continuous.