Ali, L: Phytochemical Studies on Medicinal Plants

Nature is rich in resources and its exploration can lead to cure several unmet ailments and uncountable benefits to the mankind. Plants have been used for traditional medicinal purposes for thousands of years by the people in many parts of the World. The earliest records found in the literature date back to 2000 BCE, which form the basis for Ayurvedic medicines. The secondary metabolites from plants include alkaloids, glycosides, coumarins, flavonoides, steroids etc. The present study was carried out to isolate the bioactive secondary metabolites from two medicinal plants; Prunus cerasoides and Gratiola officinalis to optimize the chemical and biological potential of these natural products. The structure of the purified constituents was confirmed by the use of UV, IR, NMR, and MS studies. The known compounds were confirmed by the comparison of their physical and spectroscopic data with the reported values, while the detailed 1D (1H and 13C NMR) and 2D NMR (HMQC, HMBC, COSY, etc.) spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry (EI-MS, HR-MS, FAB-MS) techniques were applied for the structure elucidation of new compounds.