Abstract

A new compound trivially named vitexcarpan was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of Vitex agnus castus. The structure of compound was elucidated with the help of spectroscopic techniques: 13C NMR, 1H NMR, heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC), heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC), nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) and correlation spectroscopy (COSY). The isolated compound was screened for possible urease, chymotrypsin and anti-inflammatory activities. The results showed that the compound possess moderate inhibitory activity against urease (43.3 %) and chymotrypsin (39.8 %) enzymes. Vitexcarpan also showed moderate (48 %) in vitro anti-inflammatory activity using activated human neutrophils.

Key words: Vitex agnus castus, vitexcarpan urease, chymotrypsin, anti-inflammatory.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: EtOAc, Ethyl acetate; BuOH, butanol; IR, infrared; CC, column chromatography; UV, ultraviolet; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; MHS, modified Hank’s solution; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; HMBC, heteronuclear multiple bond correlation; HSQC, heteronuclear single quantum coherence.