Studies on unused medicinal resources in africa, occurrence of sulfur compounds in cassipourea genus in kenya

Abstract

In the current re earch, the inland genus Ca sipourea of Rhizophoraceae in Kenya was pinpointed as a target for developing new medicinal resources. The field work on four species of Cassipourea, i.e. Cassipourea malosana, C. gummiflua, C. euryoides, and C. celastroides was carried out during three months in 1987, which all are grown in different habitats each other. It was proved with detective indicator (PdcI) at field work that the barks of these trees contain some sulfur compounds as we had expected. The plant materials transfered from field to laboratory provided some sulfur compounds as result of chemical studies such as isolation of compounds and determination of their structures. These compounds were such various alkaloid a pyrrolidine and pyrrolizidine posessing 1,2-dithiolane ring and bisdi¬sulphide bridge systern respectively. Among the alkaloid two new pyrrolidine alkaloids named guinesine-D and euryoidine have been isolated from Cassipourea euryoides.Guinesine¬D has als0 been found in C. celastroides. Another new pyrrolizidine alkaloid named is ocassi¬pourine have been isolated from C. malosana and C. gummiflua, For these three compounds, structure 1. 8 and were Proposed respectively on toe basis of spectro copic evidence