2-Hydroxyacetophenone: Principal Root Volatile of the East African Medicinal Plant, Carissa Edulis

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Journal of Natural Products

Publication Date

1-1-1984

Abstract

Carissa edulis (Forskal) Vahl (Apocynaceae) is a thorny shmb widespread in East Africa. Its fruit is edible, and its pungent roots are used locally for a variety of medicinal purposes (1, 2). In one application, steam from an aqueous root or root bark infusion is inhaled as a treatment for chest congestion. We were thus interested in investigating the chemistry of the steam distillate of the roots of this previously uninvestigated plant. Methylene chloride extraction of the steam distillate of fresh C. edulis root bark resulted in isolation of almost pure 2-hydroxyacetophenone, identified by capilliary gc-ms and spectroscopic methods. This structurally simple compound, although the principal volatile of this plant root, is not a common phytochemical and has been reported previously as a natural product only in the wood and bark oils of Chione glabra (3) and as a minor component of the volatiles from the flowers of Castanopsis caspidata (4) and Castanea creata (5). The antibiotic activity of simple phenols is well known (6) and may lend some credence to the traditional medicinal use of the plant. © 1984, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

PubMed ID

6533264

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