Isolation and characterization of phenolic compounds from Rhodiola imbricata, a Trans-Himalayan food crop having antioxidant and anticancer potential

• Extracts of roots of Rhodiola imbricata showed antioxidant and anticancer activities.
• Nineteen compounds including four new compounds were obtained by bioactivity guided isolation.
• Chemical structures were confirmed by IR, 1D NMR, 2-D NMR, ESI-HRMS data and chemical methods.
• Some of the compounds showed good antioxidant and anticancer activities.

The root of Rhodiola imbricata, a Trans Himalayan food crop is known for its antioxidant and adaptogenic properties. Four new compounds (7, 11, 12 and 15) together with known phenolic glycosides (10, 13–14, 16–19) and other phenolics (1–6, 8–9) were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the roots of R. imbricata. The structures of isolated molecules were established by spectroscopic techniques (ESI-HRMS, 1D and 2D NMR) and chemical methods. The compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant (radical scavenging, MTT antioxidant, linoleic acid peroxidation and reducing power assay) and anticancer activities against A-549 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines.