Isolation and characterization of lead molecule from gramineae and piparaceae drugs

Abstract

The classes of phytochemicals have been isolated from Piper species, phenylpropanoids, lignans and neolignans, alkaloids and several compounds of mixed-biosynthetic origin. Piper betle Linn. (Piperaceae) is a perennial dioecious creeper, cultivated in India for its leaves, used for chewing. The leaf is carminative, aphrodisiac, tonic, laxative and improves appetite. Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (Fam: Gramineae) is commonly known as “Doob” in India (Arugampul: Tamil). It is a weed and possesses varied medicinal properties. Leaf, root and rhizome of the plant have been used in folk medicine in different countries, as anti‐inflammatory, anticystitis, antihypertensive antiviral, hypolipidemic agent, antihysteria, antipsychotic, and antigonorrheal infection. A weighed quantity (500 g) of the air-dried powdered drugs of C. dactyon and P. Betle was taken, in a soxhelet apparatus. The filtrate was concentrated in a rotary flash evaporator at a temperature not exceeding 60^oC (yield 15.0% for PB extract and 13.5% for CD extract, dry weight basis). The isolation was performed by using column chromatography having the dimension of 63.3 cm in length, 1.3 cm in diameter by using silica gel (100-200 mesh) as the stationary phase for the collected ethyl acetate extract of Piper betle by wet packing method. The collected fraction of the solvent system having 50:50 ratio of toluene: ethyl acetate has shown the R_f value of 0.6, and for Cynodon dactylon having 90:10 ratio of Chloroform and ethyl acetate has shown the R_f value of 0.76, it was compared with standard R_f and the fraction was characterized by using IR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy studies. The Spectral data revealed that the isolated compounds from the selected plant materials were 5-Phenyl-3,4-alkynyl-2-pentanone and 1-methyl ethyl propanoate, these componenets were new compounds and they not yet isolated.