Withanolides from the genus Exodeconus (Solanaceae). Chemotaxonomical considerations

[Display omitted] •Five Exodeconus species were phytochemically analyzed.•This research allowed the isolation of three new and five known withanolides.•The compounds of Exodeconus are not chemotaxonomic markers at the generic level.•The chemical content of Exodeconus, Nicandra and Salpichroa genera are very similar. Five Exodeconus species were phytochemically analyzed. From the aerial parts of E. pusillus, the 7α,27-dihydroxy-1-oxo-22R-witha-2,5,24-trienolide and three other previously unreported normal-type withanolides were isolated. All the studied species had normal type and/or ring-D aromatic withanolides, and some had already been isolated from other Solanaceae genera, and therefore, these compounds are not chemotaxonomic markers at the generic level. The chemical composition of an undescribed Exodeconus species analyzed here supports the designation of this taxon as a new entity. The integral chemical profile of Exodeconus can be evaluated for its taxonomic implication when a more robust phylogeny of Solanaceae is available that allows the phylogenetic relationships with its closest genera to be clarified.