Piptaderol from Piptadenia africana.

A new glyceryl derivative (Glyceryl-1-hexacosanoate) and a flavone derivative (methyletherapigenin) were isolated from the stem bark extract of Piptadenia africana, a western Cameroonian plant species. Common terpenes like sitosterol, β-amyrin and eicosane were also isolated. These compounds were identified using physical and spectroscopic methods including mp, IR, 1H and 13C-NMR, DEPT, COSY, HMQC, HMBC, EI MS, HREI MS as well as some chemical transformations. The antibacterial activity of the extract, the fractions and the pure compounds is also discussed. Keywords : Piptadenia africana , Leguminoseae, Glyceryl-1-hexacosanoate, Methyletherapigenin, Chemotaxonomy, Antibacterial activity. African Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Vol. 4 (3) 2007: pp. 294-298