Biological and phytochemical studies on Capparis decidua (Forssk) Edgew from Cholistan desert

The present work deals with the biological and phytochemical studies onCapparis decidua(Forssk) Edgew from Cholistan desert of Pakistan. Aerial and floral parts of C. decidua were collected and dried under shade. Powdered materials of each part of C. decidua were extracted with methanol separately, followed by phytochemical studies. Hexane fraction of aerial parts of the C. decidua obtained after solvent-solvent extraction was purified through repeated column chromatography by increasing order of polarity. Four compounds were purified and identified as simiarenol (1), lupeol (2), taraxerol (3) and beta-sitosterol (4). Simiarenol and lupeol were isolated for the first time from genusCapparis. The structures of these compounds were established by comparing the spectroscopic data (H-1 NMR,C-13 NMR, IR, UV & Mass spectrometry) reported in literature. The structure of 1 was further confirmed by XRD analysis. Anti-bacterial activities of crude methanolic extracts were determined against 13 bacterial strains (MIC 250-1000 mu g/mL). alpha-Glucosidase and urease inhibitory activities of pure compounds were also determined. Compounds 1, 2 and 4 showed alpha-glucosidase inhibition with IC50 at 96.12 +/- 0.12, 65.28 +/- 0.13 and 128.14 +/- 0.17 mu M, respectively. [GRAPHICS] .