(±)-Asarinin

Asarinin, C₂₀H₁₈O₆, was isolated as a racemate from the shrub Zanthoxylum alatum. Both forms of the enantio­merically pure substance, (+)- and (−)-asarinin, have been the subject of a total of five previous structure determinations that are essentially identical except for the absolute stereochemistry. However, there seems to be some confusion in the literature concerning these structure determinations of asarinin and also those of its stereoisomer sesamin. The mol­ecular structure of racemic asarinin differs from that of the pure enantio­mers in the orientation of one ring system. In the packing of the racemate, mol­ecules are linked by C—H...O inter­actions to form ribbons parallel to [101].