Identification of chemical compounds from the leaves of Leea indica GOVINDARAJAPURAM VARADARAJAN SRINIVASAN

It is a perennial shrub with stout, soft wooded, glabrous stems. Its leaves and roots are reportedly of medicinal value. The leaves are useful for the treatment of diabetes and the ointment prepared from roasted leaves relieves vertigo (1, 2). Its root is used as a sudorific, antidiarrhoeal, antidysenteric, antispasmodic and to treat cardiac and skin diseases (1). The whole plant is used traditionally for headache, body pains and skin complaints (3, 4). A number of compounds have been reported from plants belonging to the genus Leea. The methanolic extract of L. indica was reported to possess strong antioxidant activity (5). A new megastigmane diglycoside, leeaoside, was isolated along with four known compounds: benzyl-O-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 6)-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-L-rhamnopyranoside, myricetin-3-O-L-rhamnopyranoside and citroside A from the leaves of L. thorelli (6). Quercitrin-3’-sulphate (7) and antioxidant flavonoids and phenolics (8) were isolated from the leaves of L. guinensis. Sixty-nine compounds were identified by GC-MS analysis of essential oil from the leaves and wood of L. guinensis (9). The aqueous extract of the leaves of L. guinensis has been reported to possess anti-edematogenic activity (10). The chemical composition of essential oil from the leaves of L. longifolia Merr. has been established (11). The crude methanolic extracts of the leaves, stem and root bark of L. tetramera were reported to possess antibacterial activity (12).