Chemical constitutents of leaf and root extracts from Azima sarmentosa Benth and their biological activities

Abstract

In the investigation of chemical constituents of the leaf and the root extracts from Azima sarmentosa Benth, three compounds were isolated from the leaf extract: taraxerone, taraxerol and unidentified triterpenoid I. Seven compounds were isolated from the root extract: unidentified triterpenoid II, stigmasterol, 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde, 1-methoxy-indole-3-carboxaldehyde, 1-methoxy-indole-3-acetonitrile, 5-hydroxymethyl furfuraldehyde and stigmasteryl-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside. This is the first report of the chemical constituents of this plant. 1-methoxy-indole-3-carboxaldehyde and 1-methoxy-indole-3-acetonitrile exhibited cytotoxic lethality on brine shrimp (Artemia salina Linn.) with LC50 0.09 and 9.24 respectively. Both compounds, 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde and unidentified triterpenoid II also showed antioxidant activity