Chemical constituents from the leaves of Fraxinus excelsior L., Senna sulfurea (Collad.) H. S. Irwin et Barneby and Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce

Fraxinus excelsior L. (Oleaceae) is used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, jaundice, joint pain, malaria, sores, swelling and wounds. The leaves of Senna sulfurea (Collad.) H. S. Irwin et Barneby (Leguminosae) are effective to cure blennorrhagia, diabetes, dysentery, gonorrhea and skin diseases. Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce, (Fabaceae) is taken to alleviate anxiety, asthma, bronchitis, dysentery, dyspepsia, fever, leprosy, leucoderma, muscle tremors, piles, rheumatism and tremors. Our study was planned to isolate chemical constituents of the methanolic extracts obtained from the leaves of F. excelsior, S. sulfurea and P. cineraria and to characterized their structures. The air-dried plant materials were exhaustively extracted with methanol separately in a Soxhlet. The concentrated methanolic extracts were adsorbed on silica gel (60-120 mesh) for the preparation of slurries. The dried slurries were chromatographed over silica gel columns individually packed in petroleum ether. The columns were eluted with petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol successively in order of increasing polarity to isolate a variety of phytoconstituents. Phytochemical investigation of the leaves of F. excelsior afforded (Z,Z,Z)-n-tetratriacont-3,5,15-triene (1), n-hexatriacontane (2), (Z,Z,Z)-n-octatriacont-11,13,20-triene (3), phytanic acid (3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadecanoic acid, 4), 26-hydroxystigmasterol-18-oic acid (5) and α-L-xylose (6). The leaves of S. sulfurea furnished isoliquiritigenin (7) and 4-methoxy-α-Lxylopyranosyl-( 3→1′)-O-α-L-4′-methoxyxylopyranoside (di-4-methoxy-α-L-xyloside, 8). The leaves of P. cineraria on subjection to silica gel column chromatography led to isolate glyceryl-1-oleioyl-2-myristioyl-3-O-hydroxydihydrocinnamate (9), 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzyl n-hexadecanyl ether (10) and salicyloyl O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-2′-oleate (11). Their structures were established on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.