Cycloolivil, a lignan from the roots of Stereospermum suaveolens

BACKGROUND: Stereospermum suaveolens DC. (Syn. S. chelonoides) belonging to family Bignoniaceae is an important medicinal plant in India. Traditionally, it is mainly used as analgesic, liver stimulant, astringent, wound healing and antidyspeptic. Roots of this plant are one of the ingredients of Dashamularishta. The plant has been studied for many pharmacological actions, only few were concerned with isolation of active compounds. OBJECTIVE: The present work deals with the isolation and identification of phytochemical constituents present in the roots of Stereospermum suaveolens. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction from the methanol extract of S. suaveolens by using open silica gel column chromatography and HPLC was carried out for all the fractions to target the major peaks in fractions. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The isolated compounds structures were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data (UV, IR, 1D-NMR, and MS) and characterized as Cycloolivil (1) reported for the first time from this plant species, Lapachol (2) and β-sitosterol (3), respectively.