Phytochemical Study of Bituminaria Basaltica Aerial Parts, an Italian Endemism

In 2017, researchers conducted the first phytochemical analysis of Bituminaria basaltica, a plant native to the Aeolian Islands. They isolated and identified eight compounds: two furanocoumarins (angelicin and psoralen), three pterocarpans (erybraedin C, 3,9-dihydroxy-4-isoprenyl-pterocarpan, and bitucarpin A), two flavonoid glycosides (isoorientin and daidzin), and plicatin B. These were identified using spectroscopic methods and literature comparison. The study also characterized the essential oil of the plant, finding sesquiterpenes like ß-caryophyllene and germacrene D as the main components. The findings supported the botanical classification of B. basaltica and contributed to the chemotaxonomy of the Bituminaria genus, with the identified compounds being typical for the genus and known for various bioactivities.