Structure determination of a sildenafil analogue contained in commercial herb drinks

It was found from HPLC analysis that a commercial herb drink contains a putative sildenafil analog. In order to identify the sildenafil-like compound, separation and purification were carried out. The structure determination was performed based on routine 1D and 2D NMR experiments. Unlike sildenafil, the compound contains an ethylpiperazine instead of a methylpiperazine group. In addition, the piperazine and phenyl groups are connected through an acetyl group instead of the sulfonyl group of sildenafil. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.