Phytochemical studies of Jurinea macrocephala roots from Western Himalaya

Phytochemical investigation of the Jurinea macrocephala roots afforded six compounds namely beta-sitosterol (1), lupenone (2), physcion (3), ptiloepoxide (4), 20, 21 alpha-epoxytaraxastan-3 beta-ol (5) and chlorogenic acid (6). All the compounds were isolated for the first time in roots. The structures of the compounds were established by analysis of their spectroscopic (H-1 and C-13 NMR) and spectrometric (MS) data, as well as by comparison of these with those reported in the literature. Metabolic profiling of chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions were also accomplished using NMR. In NMR analysis, ERETIC (electronic reference to access in-vivo concentration) 2 method was used for the quantification of identified metabolites. High quantity of chlorogenic acid (6, 130 mg/g) lupenone (2, 33.4 mg/g) and amyrins (alpha, beta) (170.6 mg/g) were detected in ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions. Further studies on the biological evaluation of phenolic-rich and chloroform fractions could be beneficial to explore its pharmaceutical potential.