A number of Vitex species have been investigated as a source of potential bioactive compounds such as ecdysteroids [1], diterpenoids [2], iridoids [3], flavonoids, and phenolic compounds [4] demonstrating antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, analgesic, antihistaminic, anti-implantation, and antiasthmatic activities [5,6]. Generally, ecdysteroids and iridoids have been explored as chemotaxonomic markers for the plants in the family Lamiaceae including Vitex species [7]. Vitex doniana Sweet (Lamiaceae) is a small to medium sized tree growing up to 25 m tall with no phytochemical report in spite of the available ethnopharmacological significance among different African communities [8], including use of water decoctions of different parts for treatment of stomach and rheumatic pains as well as inflammatory disorders [9,10]. Antidepressant effects and potentiation of sodium thiopental sleeping time, muscle relaxant [11], anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities [8] of V. doniana leaf extracts have been reported as well as antihypertensive effects on normative and hypertensive rats, trypanocidal and antidiarrheal activities of the stem bark [12]. Recent indication of anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, and antipyretic properties of ethanol extracts [13] of V. doniana stem bark prompted a phytochemical analysis of the plantʼs stem bark for potential anti-inflammatory compounds. As a result of this study, isolation of three new phytoecdysteroids [21-hydroxyshidasterone (1), 11β-hydroxy-20-deoxyshidasterone (2), and 2,3-acetonide-24-hydroxyecdysone (3)] and four known phytoecdysteroids [shidasterone (4), ajugasterone C (5), 24-hydroxyecdysone (6), and 11β,24-dihydroxyecdysone (7)] with comparable anti-inflammatory activities as diclofenac are reported. Abstract !With reference to the ethnopharmacological significance of Vitex doniana Sweet (Lamiaceae) leaves in the treatment of stomach and rheumatic pains as well as inflammatory disorders, biological studies on its stem bark extracts have also reported anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, with no attempt to identify the active components. Chromatographic and spectroscopic procedures identified three new phytoecdysteroids: 21-hydroxyshidasterone (1), 11β-hydroxy-20-deoxyshidasterone (2), and 2,3-acetonide-24-hydroxyecdysone (3) from the stem bark methanol extracts along with known ecdysteroids shidasterone (4), ajugasterone C (5), 24-hydroxyecdysone (6), and 11β,24-hydroxyecdysone (7). The compounds (1-7) showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) inhibitory effect at 100 mg/kg dose on rat paw oedema development due to carrageenan-induced inflammation in Sprague Dawley rats. These results suggest a possible contribution of ecdysteroids to the anti-inflammatory effect of some V. doniana stem bark extracts. Abbreviations

No abstract

No abstract

Chemical analysis of the acetone extract of Commiphora holtziana gum resin has led to the isolation of triterpenes characterized as methyl 3-oxo-1α,19α,28-trihydroxyurs-12-en-24-oate (1), methyl 3β-acetyl-2α,11α,19α,28-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-24-oate (2), methyl 3β,11α-diacetyl-1α,2α,28-trihydroxyurs-12-ene-24-oate (3), and 3β,28-diacetyl-1α,2α,25-trihydroxydammar-23-ene (4). The known compounds isolated from the same extract included cabraleadiol monoacetate (5), mansumbinol (6), 3β-acetylamyrin (7), 3α-acetylboswellic acid (8), 2-methoxy-8,12-epoxygermacra-1(10),7,11-trien-6-one (9), 2-methoxy-5-acetylfuranogermacra-1(10),7,11-trien-6-one (10), furadienone (11), 2-methoxy-5-acetyl-4-furanogermacra-1(10)Z-en-6-one (12), α-amyrin (13), sistosterol (14) and stigmasterol 3-O-acetate (15). Structural elucidation was carried out using spectroscopic and physical methods as well as by comparison with the literature data.