A minor coumarino-lignoid from Jatropha gossypifolia.

1. Subject and source Jatropha gossypifolia Linn. (Euporbiaceae) is a small shrub which grows widely in India. The plant has been used ethnomedically for the treatment of cancerous growths (Hartwell, 1969). The whole plant was collected from the campus in September 1997. A voucher specimen of the plant material (IICP-2048) is preserved in the herbarium of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. Several novel diterpenes (jatrophone and its analogues (Kupchan et al., 1970; Taylor et al., 1983) and jatropholones A and B (Purushothaman et al., 1979)) as well as lignans (jatrophan and gadain (Banerji et al., 1984) and venkatasin (Das et al., 1999)) have previously been reported.