Isolation and Characterisation of Stigmasterol and β–Sitosterol from Anthocleista djalonensis A. Chev.

Aim: Anthocleista djalonensis A. Chev. is a plant with several chemical constituents which accounts for its ethno-pharmacological uses. The present study is aimed at identifying and characterizing the active principles from the roots of the plant.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Organic Chemistry, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa between March and July 2016.

Methodology: The root powder was subjected to maceration with methanol to obtain the crude extract. The methanol extract was fractionated using hexane, ethyl acetate and acetone successively. The acetone extract was thereafter subjected to column chromatography to isolate any pure components.

Results: White needle-like crystals were obtained which on spectral analysis(IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 2D- NMR, and ESI-MS ) were identified as a mixture of stigmasterol and β-sitosterol.

Conclusion: The compounds isolated were identified as stigmasterol and β-sitosterol.