Isolation and Structural Characterization of Phytoconstituents from Strobilanthes kunthianus

Background: Strobilanthes kunthianus T Anders (Neela kurinji) is well known for its medicinal properties and reported to possess many biological activities. However, so far there is no phytoconstituents are isolated and reported in S. kunthianus. Objective: The present study aimed to isolate and characterize the chemical constituents present in various parts of S. kunthianus. Methods: The successive petroleum ether root and stem extracts, chloroform stem extract, macerated and crude methanol flower extracts were subjected to column chromatography for the isolation of constituents. All the isolated compounds were characterized based on their physical and spectral data analysis. Results: Ten compounds were isolated and being reported for the first time from S. kunthianus. Except lupeol (1 and 2), betulin (3), α-amyrin (5) and β-sitosterol (7), other five compounds including of 3,5-bis-(dimethylcarbamoyl)methyl)-4-(11- cyclohexylundecyl)-4-heptyl-N1,N1,N7,N7 tetramethylheptanediamide (4), 4-amino-tetrahydro- 2H-pyran-3,5-diol (6), 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-4-((E)-3,6-dimethylundec-4-enyl)cyclohexyl propionate (8), flavone glycoside (9) and decahydro-1,1,4a,8-tetramethylphenanthren- 2(1H,3H,4bH)-one (10), isolated from S. kunthianus were novel. Conclusion: The novel compounds need to be further investigated for ascertain pharmacological activities which will be useful for further drug development.