Phylogenetic implications of an expanded valepotriate distribution in the Valerianaceae

A total of 27 taxa from the families Adoxaceae s.lat. (including Viburnaceae and Sambucaceae), Araliaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Dipsacaceae and Valerianaceae (including Triplostegia) have been analysed using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and combined high performance liquid chromato-graphy-mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) in search for iridoid triesters of the valepotriate type. Valepotriates were detected unambigously in all taxa studied of the Valerianaceae, but not in any of the other families studied. The obtained results fall well in line with suggested phylogenies estimated from molecular and morphological data. This paper includes the first reports of valepotriates in the genera Triplostegia and Nardostachys, and the first published fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectra of valepotriates. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.