Chemical Constituents of Indigofera Aspalathoides Vahl. Ex. DC.

Abstract

Civarvembu/ Sivanimba is botanically equated to Indigofera aspalathoides Vahl ex. DC. (Leguminosae). The plant is prescribed for eczema, psoriasis, boils, burns, wounds and ulcers. The whole plant is an ingredient in Civanar vembut tailam and civanar vembut kulit tailam which are popular for skin diseases. Based on the therapeutic applications it was aimed to find out the secondary metabolites present in the whole plant. Extraction, fractionation and characterization of the solvent extracts led to the identification of ten compounds n-butyl ester of nanodecanoic acid, 1-octadecanol, 4-heneicosanone, I±-amyrin, n-octacosanol, I²-sitosterol, salicylic acid, erthroxydiol X, erythroxydiol Y and I²-sitosterol-3I²-D-glucopyranoside. All these compounds are reported for the first time from the genus Indigofera.