An isoprenylated flavanone from Glycyrrhiza glabra and rec-assay of licorice phenols1

A new prenylated 3-hydroxypyranoflavanone, kanzonol Z, was isolated from cultivated licorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, and the structure elucidated from spectral evidence. The stereochemical structure of kanzonol Y previously isolated from the licorice has been shown to be (αR)-3,5′-diprenyl-α,2′,4,4′-tetrahydroxydihydrochalcone by Mosher's method. In a prescreening test for bioactive compounds amongst licorice phenols using a recombinationless mutant of Bacillus subtilis M45, seven compounds showed induction activities of DNA damage.