Chemical constituents from Lespedeza cuneata G. Don (Leguminosae)

•A phytochemical investigation of Lespedeza cuneata led to the isolation of 17 compounds, including steroids, flavonoids, phenolics, a carotenoid, a lignan, and a hexose.•This is the first report of compounds 2-3, 7, 15-16 from the genus Lespedeza.•The taxonomic significance of the isolated compounds was discussed.

Phytochemical investigation of Lespedeza cuneata led to the isolation of seventeen compounds including three steroids (β-sitosterol 1, β-sitosterol-6′-linolenoyl-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside 3, and β-sitosterol glucoside 13), nine flavonoids (quercetin 4, kaempferol 5, isovitexin 8, hirsutrin 9, nicotiflorin 10, vitexin 11, astragalin 12, trifolin 14, and isorhamnetin 17), two phenolics (benzyl-β-d-glucopyranoside 7 and homovanillyl alcohol 16), one carotenoid (loroxanthin 2), one lignin (7R,8S–dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 15), and one hexose (pinitol 6) on the basis of their spectroscopic data. Among these compounds, 2, 3, 7, 15 and 16 were reported for the first time from the genus Lespedeza. The taxonomic significance of these isolated compounds was also summarized.