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Glucolipid from the ethyl acetate fraction of Acalypha wilkesiana var. lace-acalypha (Muell & Arg)


OH Oladimeji
EC Johnson

Abstract

Plant recipes are classified as medicinal when the biological activities of compounds obtained from them have been scientifically established. Before now, three compounds namely, ethyl gallate, pyrogallol and D-arabino-hex-1- enitol-1, 5-anhydro-2-deoxy have been isolated from the butanol fraction of Acalypha wilkesiana var. lace-acalypha (Muell & Arg.) and their antimicrobial activities evaluated, established and documented. In this study, the ethyl acetate fraction which resulted from solvent-partitioning of the aqueous crude extract of the plant with organic solvents of increasing polarities was subjected to silica-gel column chromatography. A glucolipid, designated as H-2 [light brown oil; b.p. (391-393 0C); Rf (0.19); [n]20D (1.3989)] was isolated. The structure of H-2 has been established to be ethyl α-D-glucopyranoside by a combination of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS and IR spectral techniques. H-2 was remarkably bacteriostatic against B. subtilis, E. coli, K. pneumonia, Ps. aeruginosa and S. typhi. However, it recorded no activitities against S. aureus and C. albicans. H-2 and other compounds previously obtained can be used to chemotaxonomically mark this plant and hence classified as medicinal.

Keywords: Acalypha wilkesiana var. lace-acalypha; Glucolipid; Ethyl α-D-glucopyranoside; Ethyl acetate fraction


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eISSN: 0189-8442