Abstract: The roots of Anemone altaica Fisch. ex C. A. Mey. have been used in the treatment of epilepsia, neurasthenia, and arthritis in Chinese folk medicine for a long time. In order to find new and bioactive compounds, the chemical constituents of the roots of A. altaica were investigated and nine compounds were isolated from the EtOH extract of this plant. On the basis of spectroscopic methods, the structures of these compounds were elucidated as 4-(9H-β-carbolin-1-yl)-4-oxo-butyric acid (1), carboxymethyl isoferulate (2), isoferulic acid (3), cirsiumaldehyde (4), 5-hydroxy-4-oxo-pentanoic acid (5), triacontane (6), palmic acid (7),β-sitosterol (8), and daucosterol (9). Among them, 1 and 2 were new compounds, and 3 and 4 were obtained from this genus for the first time.

Key words: Anemone altaica, 4-(9H-β-carbolin-1-yl)-4-oxo-butyric acid, carboxymethyl isoferulate, chemical constituent, cirsiumaldehyde, isoferulic acid.