Chemical constituents of the root of Asparagus racemosus Willd

Abstract

Dried roots of Asparagus racemosus Willd. were extracted with hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol respectively. Fractionation of the crude extracts by column chromatography led to the isolation of 3 mixtures and 6 compounds. They included two new compounds : 4,5-dihydroxy-1,7-dimethoxy-8-methyl-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene and 6-hydroxy-2-(3-hydrocy-5-methoxy-2,4-dimethyl phenyl) benzofuran alog with seven known substances, a mixture of long chain hydrocarbons (C24-C33), a mixture of long chain esters, a mixture of long chain acids (C22-C28,C30), stigmasterol, Asparagamine A, stigmasteryl 1-3-O-Beta-D-glucopyranoside and 3-0-[Alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1->2)-O-Beta-D-glucopyranosyl]sarsasapogenin. The structure of two new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Asparagamine A, the major component of this plant, was shown to have antioxytocin activity, in vivo, in pregnant rats with doses of 10 mg / 0.2 ml / rat.