Phytochemical and pharmacological investigation on the roots of asparagus rosemosus

Abstract

The plant Asparagus racemosus of Aspargaceae family is used various diseases upset stomach (dyspepsia), constipation, stomach spasm and stomach ulcers. It is also used for fluid retention, pain, anxiety, diarrhea, bronchitis, dementia and diabetes. The plant root was enriched with important biologically active compounds such as sarsasapogenin, adscendin (A, B), asparanin (A, B, C). So the plant is selected for further investigation. The plant’s dried root was extracted with various solvent such as methanol, dichloromethane and various solvent extract was obtained. During this investigation four compounds were isolated from various plant extracts. All the compounds were identified preliminary by chemical methods and then the structure elucidations of the compounds were performed by various spectral methods (IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and DEPT) and were confirmed in comparison with the result that is available in the published literatures. In this project, three steroidal type compounds stigmasterol [(3S,8S,9S, 10R,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(E,2R,5S)-5-ethyl-6methylhept-3-en-2-yl]-10,13-dimethyl- 2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol] , β-sitosterol [17-(5-Ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl)-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro- 1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol], Daucosterol [β-Sitosterol glucoside] and one triterpinoid compound Lueol acetated [(3β)-lup-20(29)-en-3ol acetate] find out from the roots of the plant. Stigmasterol and β-sitosterolshowed low anti- microbial activity against gram positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus polymyxa) and gram negative bacteria (Klebsiella sp., Shigella sonnei,) Lupeol acetate also showed low anti microbial activity against gram positive (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and gram negative Shigella sonnei. The steroid Daucosterol showed moderate activity against Bacillus subtillis and gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas. Thus the isolation, characterization and investigation of anti microbial activity of the compounds from the root of plant Asparagus resemosus might generate much synthetic and biological interest in this field of the natural products.