Fatty acids isolated from Milletia versicolor Baker (Fabaceae)

Milletia versicolor Baker is a plant used in the Congolese traditional medicine for the treatment of intestine parasitosis. A chemical study carried out from its methanolic extract has concluded with the isolation using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of four organic acids; tetradecanoic acid, pentadecanoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid and octadecanoic aci

Steroids isolated from Millettia versicolor Baker (Fabaceae)

The objective of this investigation was to isolate and determine the chemical constituents of the leaves of Millettia versicolor Baker, a medicinal plant used in the traditional pharmacopoeias of Central Africa, essentially for its pain-relieving and anti-parasitic properties. A methanol extract of the leaves was made. The chemical compounds isolated were analyzed by HPLC/MS and GC/MS. The structures wereelucidated on the basis of spectral studies (IR, RMN 1H, 13C) and confirmed by comparison with published data. Seven known compounds (two sterols, one stanol and four triterpene alcohols) were determined, the major compound being stigmasterol. Except lupeol, previously isolated from M. versicolor aerial parts, these compounds are isolated from this plant for the first time. Their presence supports the pain-relieving use of the plants, since 5 of the 7 compounds have reported antiinflammatoryactivity, and 2 of these 5 had also an anti-nociceptive action

Antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of phenolic constituents from Klainedoxa gabonensis

Wansi JD, Chiozem DD, Tcho MT, et al. Antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of phenolic constituents from Klainedoxa gabonensis. PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY. 2010;48(10):1124-1129.Bioassay-guided fractionation of the methanol extract of the stem bark of Klainedoxa gabonensis Pierre ex Engl. (Irvingiaceae) afforded 12 compounds, namely, ellagic acid (1), ellagic acid 3,3'-dimethylether (2), gallic acid (3), methyl gallate (4), lupeol (5), beta-amyrin (7), erythrodiol (8), oleanolic acid (9), betulinic acid (6), hederagenin (10), bayogenin acid (11), and stigmasterol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (12). Compounds 1-3 and 7-12 were isolated for the first time from this genus. The structures were established on the basis of 1D/2D NMR experiments and mass spectrometric data. Crude extract, fractions (A, B, C and D) and pure compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity using paper disk agar diffusion assay. The test delivered a range of low to high activities for phenolic compounds 1-4, low or missing activities for terpenoid compounds 5-11, and impressive very high antibacterial/antifungal values for two fractions C and D probably due to synergistic effects of compounds. The broth microdilution assay revealed MICs of 15.4-115.1 mu g/mL for phenolic compounds, MICs higher than 1 mg/mL for terpenoids and MICs of 4.5-30.3 mu g/mL for fractions C and D. The determination of the radical scavenging activity using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay gave high antioxidant values for the methanol extract and fraction D (IC50 10.45 and 5.50 mu g/mL) as well as for the phenolic compounds 1-4 (IC50 45.50-48.25 mM) compared to the standard 3-t-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA) (IC50 44.20 mM)