An iridoid glucoside from the leaves of Pavetta crassipes

An iridoid glucoside, ixoside, was isolated from the leaves of Pavetta crassipes (Rubiaceae), growing in North-Central region of Nigeria. The plant is used in traditional medicine by the people of the locality for the treatment of respiratory disorder and tuberculosis related symptoms. Extraction with methanol followed by chromatographic separation afforded the compound and it was identified on the basis of its UV, IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectral data and comparison to literature reports. The occurrence of an iridoid glucoside in P.crassipes and the genus Pavetta is reported for the first time. Keywords: Pavetta crassipes, Rubiaceae, ixoside, iridoid, spectrophotometry