STIGMASTEROL AND STIGMASTEROL GLYCOSIDE: ISOLATED COMPOUNDS FROM Tetrapleura tetraptera EXTRACTS
OLAJIDE OLUTAYO OLAWUMI *
Chemistry Advanced Research Centre, Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO), Abuja, Nigeria and Natural Product Research Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Kwazulu Natal, Durban, South Africa and Department of Chemistry, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria
OKWUTE SIMON KOMA
Department of Chemistry, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Backgroung: Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schum. & Thonn.) is a plant used traditionally in Nigeria for the management of convulsions, leprosy, inflammation and rheumatism. The fruit has varied applications in Nigerian folk medicine and is used extensively for treatment of an array of human ailments including hypertension, arthritis, diabetes mellitus, and epilepsy.
Aim: In order to present scientific evidence for the ethno-medical claims, this study was conducted to identify the active ingredients in Tetrapleura tetraptera (Schum. & Thonn.).
Methods: The stem bark and leaves of the plant were extracted with 95 % ethanol and both crude extracts were fractionated.
Results: Five compounds were isolated from the stem bark and leaf of the plant extracts, belonging to the sterols, saponins, mono-N-acetylglycoside, a straight chain fatty alcohol and a natural pigment were isolated based on their 1H, 13C, 2D NMR and FTIR spectra.
Conclusion: More compounds should be isolated from other bioassay-guided fractions, subjected to biological and pharmacological studies to investigate the medicinal potential of Tetrapleura tetraptera. Also, derivatives of the isolated compounds should be synthesized to improve on its activity.
Keywords: Ethno-medical, nuclear magnetic resonance, isolated, Tetrapleura tetraptera, silica gel.