Phytochemical Studies On The Roots Of Pandanus Tectorius Soland.-A Medicinal Plant

Objective To provide a chemical basis for the understanding of effective components and for its use as therapeutant in the traditional medicines, we systematically investigated the chemical constituents of the roots of Pandanus tectorius Soland. Methodsâ‘ The chemical components of the roots of P. tectorius Soland. were isolated by using various chromatographic techniques such as silica gel, sephadex LH-20, polyamide, macroporous resin, HPLC and supercritical CO2 extraction (SFE-CO2) process. Their chemical structures were then elucidated on the basis of analysis of UV, IR, MS and NMR spectroscopic data and by their physico-chemical properties; A GC-MS method was established to determine the chemical components of essential oils.â‘¡Amino acids from the roots of P. tectorius Soland. were analysed by the pre-column derivatization HPLC methods.â‘¢The trace elements in the roots were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Resultsâ‘ Eight compounds were isolated from ethanol extract of the roots of P. tectorius Soland., and six of them were then identified as:cycloartan-24(28)-en-3-one,29(30)-norcycloartan-24(28)-en-3-one,30-norcycloartan-24(28)-en-3-one, beta-stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol and palmitic acid, separately. A new 29(30)-norcycloartan-24(28)-en-3-one and two known cycloartanes type triterpenoids were obtained from this genus for the first time; Moreover, ten molecules of essential oils were identified by GC-MS analysis of SFE-CO2 extract, and they were elucidated as:asarone,4-ethylbenzoic acid-2-methylphenyl ester,2-methyl-6-(4-methylphenyl)hept-2-en-4-one, curlone, 4-heptylphenol,2,2,4-trimethyl-3a,7a-dihydro-1,3-benzodioxol, longipinocarvone, m-tolyl methylcarbamate, ethyl palmitate and ethyl (9E,12E)-9,12-octadecadienoate;â‘¡sixteen kinds of amino acids and twenty species of trace elements were first detected from the roots of P. tectorius Soland. Conclusions Sixteen small molecules were isolated and identified from the roots of P. tectorius Soland., a new 29(30)-norcycloartane-type triterpene along with two known cycloartanes was isolated from this genus; sixteen kinds of amino acids and twenty species of trace elements were also detected. Therefore, the generated data has provided the chemical basis for understanding of effective components and for the use of this plant as therapeutic agent in folk medicine, and the cycloartane type triterpennoids may be used as potential chemical markers for P. tectorius Soland.