Phytochemical and biological investigations of eurya acuminata (Theaceae)

Abstract

The methanol extract of the powdered leaf of Eurya acuminata was investigated for isolation of
secondary metabolites and two compounds were obtained by using VLC, column chromatography and TLC. The
compounds were identified as phytol (1) and β-sitosterol by extensive spectroscopic studies, including high field
NMR analyses as well as co-TLC with authentic samples. The methanol extract of leaf of E. acuminata and its
organic and aqueous soluble partitioning materials were evaluated for cytotoxic, thrombolytic and antimicrobial
properties. In the cytotoxicity study the aqueous fraction of crude methanolic extract showed significant lethality
towards brine shrimp having LC50 value 8.821 μg/ml as compared to standard vincristine sulfate (0.404 μg/ml). In the
study for thrombolytic property, different extract of E. acuminata exhibited various thrombolytic activity ranging
from 13.66 to 31.89 % as compared to standard streptokinase (46.51 %). No antimicrobial activity was observed from
leaf extracts.