Triterpenes and steroids from the stem bark of Gambeya boiviniana Pierre

Abstract

A chemical study was done on the stem bark of Gambeya boiviniana Pierre. This plant has been used in traditional medicine for treatment of different kinds of inflammation disorders. In the present study, anti- inflammatory activities of ethanolic, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanolic extracts were assayed in mice using carrageenan-induced paw edema. Ethyl acetate extract was found to possess the most significant anti-inflammatory effect (67, 78%). These results are in accordance with the folk use of this plant. However, more research is needed for its use in clinical studies. The separations of the chemical compounds of ethyl acetate extract were carried out by different chromatographic technics and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic method including nuclear magnetic, mass spectrometry, IR spectrometry, GC/MS. Nine compounds were identified during this investigation. There are lupeol acetate 3, I² amyrin acetate 4, I± amyrin acetate 6, taraxasterol acetate 5, fatty acid ester of lupeol 2 and fatty acid ester of I²-amyrin 1, chondrillasterol 7, I²-sitosterol 8, I²-sitosterol-3-O-glucoside 9.