Isolation of secondary products from Ipomoea digitata – a medicinally important plant

The paper reports the isolation and characterization of β-sitosterol, t-cinnamic acid [undecyl (E)-3-(4hydroxyphenyl)-2-propenoate], an unknown coumarin and a lignan type resin glycoside from the tuberous roots of Ipomoea digitata. The structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive chemical and spectroscopic data. Importantly, one of the compounds exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E coli. The resin glycosides are known as purgative ingredients and hence have medicinal value. However, the exact chemical and biological activity of the resin glycoside isolated in this study is yet to be ascertained.