Isolation and characterisation of Pterocarpus santalinus heartwood extract

Recently there has been increasing interest in plants and plant derived compounds as medicinal agents. Bioactive compounds typically occur in small amounts and have more subtle effects. These bioactive compounds influence cellular activities that modify the risk of disease rather than prevent deficiency diseases. Many important bioactive phytocompounds have been extracted and identified from the heartwood of Pterocarpus santalinus. A wide array of biological activities and potential health benefits of Pterocarpus santalinus have been reported, including antioxidative, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiinflammatory and protective effects on the liver, gastric mucosa, and nervous system. All these protective effects were attributed to bioactive compounds present in Pterocarpus santalinus. Pterocarpus santalinus Linn. heartwood was extracted with ethanol and blackish brown residue was obtained and percentage yield of was found to be 15% w/w. Pterocarpus santalinus Linn. heartwood extract was subjected to qualitative analysis for various phytochemical constituents and revealed the presence of glycosides, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins and sterols. The extract was subjected to column chromatography for isolation of compounds and characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and LC-MS Spectral analysis. Based on the spectral data’s, the proposed structure of the compound was characterized as 6-Hydroxy-7-methoxycoumarin with C10H8O4 and the melting point 204oC was confirmed by comparison of its spectral data with reported values.